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Three international students — from China, Malaysia, and South Africa — were elected as Rhodes Scholars, joining the nine total Rhodes Scholarships won by Harvard students this year.
Je Qin “Jay” Chooi ’26 won the single Rhodes Scholarship for Malaysia, and Hairong “Helen” He ’26 is one of the four scholars to represent Mainland China. Sazi Bongwe ’26, an English concentrator from South Africa, also won the Rhodes.
Chooi, He, and Bongwe are among the six international scholars, and three U.S. scholars, awarded the Rhodes Scholarship this year. The Rhodes, considered one of the most prestigious academic awards in the world, funds students as they pursue graduate degrees at the University of Oxford.
Chooi — a senior in Pforzheimer House — is a joint Computer Science and Mathematics major who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in statistics at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He also helps lead the Artificial Intelligence Safety Student Team at Harvard, where he works to reduce the risks of AI.
He hopes to translate this work to his time at Oxford, where he will complete a three-year Ph.D. program in computer science. He also plans to continue working on AI safety alongside the United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute.
“We’re doing things that are actually are pushing the frontier in safety,” he said.
Chooi added he feels “incredibly grateful for everyone who made it possible,” especially considering the small number of scholars selected from Malaysia.
“I’m full of gratitude that they put this trust into me and gave me this responsibility, and I want to execute this responsibility well,” Chooi said.
Bongwe, a former Crimson Magazine editor, has also written for the Harvard Advocate. He told the Harvard Gazette, a University-run publication, that he is planning to purse two master’s degrees, one in literature and a second in visual arts.
He is a senior in Currier House and jointly concentrates in Computer Science and East Asian Studies with a secondary in Classics. Her work at Harvard revolves around the intersection of ancient cultures and modern-day technology, particularly how tech can “rekindle people’s interest in ancient cultures.”
She plans to also complete a master’s degree in computer science at Oxford — but that was not always the plan. He said she had considered whether to complete a degree in “Traditional China,” or traditional Chinese studies, alongside computer science.
“I’m still kind of debating,” she said.
Regardless of degree plan, He said she was deeply grateful for the support she’s received from
her friends, family, professors — and particularly her friends in Currier.
“I feel very excited and honored, very surprised, very humbled,” He said.
“I’ve received so much incredible support from so many professors, mentors, friends, and also various institutes at Harvard. So there’s just so many people to thank for this wonderful opportunity,” she added. “It feels like a dream.”
Chooi echoed the same gratitude, expressing thanks for his many supporters who helped him get to this point.
“The only reason that I can hear Rhodes is because of the communities that have helped me, the teachers, my family, school, and all my mentors,” Chooi said.
“Thank you to everybody who’s been part of this, this journey with me,” He said.
—Staff writer Jordanos S. Sisay can be reached at jordanos.sisay@thecrimson.com.
