Mississippi State University’s Donald M. “Field” Brown became the second student since 1911 at MSU to be awarded the Cecil J. Rhodes Scholarship Nov. 23.
The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the oldest and most celebrated prestigious fellowship awards in the world. Established by the will of businessman and mining magnate Cecil J. Rhodes, the scholarship is an international award designed to educate future leaders and promote international understanding in Oxford, England.
Brown, English and philosophy double major and Vicksburg, Miss., native, said he left for the University of St. Louis on Nov. 21 where he would participate in social events and an interview that would result with his becoming a Rhodes Scholar.
After a two-hour cocktail party on Friday that evaluated the finalists’ social skills and a 25-minute interview on Saturday, Brown said he and 13 other finalists sat in a waiting room at the University of St. Louis, awaiting the results of their scholarly fate.
“The six people who formed the interview committee walked in and told us how proud they were, but that they could only choose two,” Brown said. “When they called my name I put my hands on my head in disbelief because I could not believe it.”
Brown said the scholarship requires him to spend two years at the University of Oxford, where he will travel in early October 2014. 
“During my two years there I will obtain a degree in English literature and a degree in American literature,” he said. “I hope to become affiliated with a few subsets of the Rhodes Foundation at the university. They include the Christian Rhodes Foundation, and the Black Rhodes Foundation. I also hope to get involved in playing tennis at the University of Oxford. I’ve been playing all my life.”
Tommy Anderson, professor of English and Brown’s mentor, said he has known Brown since he was a freshman at MSU and was struck by how calm, confident and reflective Brown was before the interview.
“As it is that I went with him for support and to further help him prepare before the interview, I knew he was ready and that he had matured to a level I had never seen before in an undergraduate,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t sure if he would become a scholar, but I knew he would give the best representation.”
Anderson said Brown’s new merit is transformative in that it will assist in making him an academic leader and help him make connections between academia and the real world that has raised and nurtured him.
“This will do nothing less than allow him to make an impact on his hometown, Vicksburg, and here at MSU,” he said.
Andrea Spain, professor of English and Brown’s senior thesis adviser, said Brown’s tremendous honor demonstrates that MSU students can compete with the best students anywhere and that faculty will do their best to support the ambition of students.
“Field carved out his unique interdisciplinary scholarly trajectory and worked with incredible dedication with faculty in the honors college, department of philosophy, African American Studies and the department of English, all of whom were thrilled to support him,” she said. “This dedication, together with Field’s unsurpassed integrity, humility and his tremendous warmth, earned Field this incredible honor.”
Spain said Field’s extraordinary performance this past weekend, after weeks of his tireless preparation, has opened up entirely new worlds for him.
Brown said he felt confident and relaxed throughout the interview process.
“I gave them my best and showed them who I am,” he said. “For anyone that wants to accomplish a goal, I would tell them to make sure you have a mentor, someone you can share your ideas with and can help you grow. Be sure to follow your dreams.”
For more information about the scholarship, visit rhodesscholar.org. To view the 2013 winners, visit rhodesscholar.org/winners.