Rhodes Prize to Occidental Senior

Although his head was still swimming, Cullen Taniguchi, a senior at Occidental College, had little time for celebrating Sunday after being named one of 32 Rhodes scholars from across America.

“I’ve got a big genetics exam tomorrow. It’s pretty hard studying when you’re functioning in a half-dreamlike state,” said the 21-year-old chemistry major from Mililani, Hawaii.

If the past is any guide, Taniguchi shouldn’t worry too much. At Occidental, the 1,500-student liberal arts college in the Eagle Rock district of Los Angeles, he’s achieved a perfect 4.0 academic record since his freshman year.

He also plays rugby, competes in the karate program, is a timpanist with the college orchestra, studies classical guitar and has worked as a volunteer at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

In addition to prestige, the scholarship will provide Taniguchi with free tuition and an annual stipend of more than $11,000 for 2 to 3 years of study at Oxford University in England.

Taniguchi plans to continue studying chemistry--”Oxford has some of the best chemists in the world”--and pursue a career in medical research.

But he intends to keep one foot firmly planted in the public policy arena.

“‘I see myself as a social activist as well as someone who wants to pursue a career in science,” he said. “There are many issues, genetic engineering to name one, in which scientists need to provide input both to educate the public and the politicians. I hope to make that as much a part of my career as medical research.”

The Occidental honors student was involved in public policy matters back in Hawaii when, as a high school junior, he was elected by students throughout the state to serve as an ex officio member of the Hawaii Legislature. He was assigned to the education committee.

Taniguchi was the only Rhodes scholar selected this year from a California college.

Harvard University had the most number of winners, with four. Wellesley College, the University of North Carolina and Princeton University each had two. This year’s scholars were chosen from a group of 990 applicants from 314 colleges and universities in the United States.

Rhodes scholarships were established in 1904 by the estate of Cecil Rhodes, a British philanthropist and colonialist. The winners were announced by the Rhodes Scholarship Trust at Pomona College in Claremont.

Here are the students chosen as American Rhodes scholars for 1998:

DISTRICT ONE

Bryan S. Graham, Canberra, Australia, Tufts University; Laura Tavares, East Falmouth, Mass., Wellesley College; Julia Raiskin, Fort Lee, N.J., Harvard University; Andrew A. Castiglione, Warwick, R.I., U.S. Naval Academy.

DISTRICT TWO

Roy E. Bahat, New York, Harvard University; Rachel J. Simmons, Washington, D.C., Vassar College; Julia Haya Levison, Bryn Mawr, Pa., Wellesley College; Joy Yu-Ho Wang, Philadelphia, Messiah College.

DISTRICT THREE

Douglas de Lorenzo, North East, Md., University of Delaware; John Tye, Belmont, Mass., Duke University; Jonathan Tepper, Chapel Hill, N.C., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Micah J. Schwartzman, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., University of Virginia.

DISTRICT FOUR

Scott A. Hershovitz, Duluth, Ga., University of Georgia; Noam Scheiber, Glen Ridge, N.J., Tulane University; Anne Katherine Jones, Marietta, Ga., University of the South; David C. Latimer, Nashville, Tenn., Vanderbilt University.

DISTRICT FIVE

Kirsten Parker, West Point, N.Y., University of Chicago; Ebrahim Patel, Glen Ellyn, Ill., University of Illinois; Leslie Kendrick, East Point, Ky., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Fiona Anne Rose, Ann Arbor, Mich., University of Michigan.

DISTRICT SIX

Adeel Qalbani, Sioux City, Iowa, Princeton University; Jonathan Winkler, Wichita, Kan., Kansas State University; Jacob Sullivan, Minneapolis, Yale University; Narayanan “Bobby” Kasthuri, St. Louis, Princeton University.

DISTRICT SEVEN

Gregory Scott Patrick Criste, Denver, Colorado College; Valerie J. Macmillan, Eagle, Idaho, Harvard University; Gretchen Rohr, Billings, Mont., Macalester College; Blaine Greteman, Hydro, Okla., Oklahoma State University.

DISTRICT EIGHT

Owen S. Wozniak, Anchorage, Harvard University; Cullen M. Taniguchi, Mililani, Hawaii, Occidental College; Laura Provinzino, St. Cloud, Minn., Lewis and Clark College; S. Kristine Abrams, Edmonds, Wash., Brown University.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.