Two Stanford students are named 2020 Rhodes Scholars

Anat Peled
Anat Peled

History major Anat Peled, ’20, and classics and mathematics major Cyrus Reza, ’20, have been named 2020 Rhodes Scholars.

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for two or three years of graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. Students apply for the award and are selected based on outstanding scholarly achievements, character, commitment to others and to the common good, as well as potential for leadership in whatever careers they choose.

Peled is a recipient for her home country of Israel. After completing her undergraduate studies at Stanford next spring, Peled will pursue an MPhil in History at Oxford.

Peled is majoring in history with a focus on intellectual history and political philosophy and pursuing a minor in symbolic systems. She has served in the Israeli Defense Forces intelligence corps and is co-founder and president of the Stanford International Security Undergraduate Network (SISUN). She was awarded the 2019 George and Charlotte Shultz Fellowship for Modern Israel Studies to conduct research on Syrian Jewry in Israel.

Reza was born and raised on the East Coast and later relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska, before enrolling at Stanford in 2016. He is currently a double major in classics and mathematics and is also pursuing a master’s degree in international policy with a focus on international security at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Reza credits his time at Stanford for helping him develop an interest in public service, particularly the military, which he intends to enter once he completes his graduate studies.

After completing his studies at Stanford next spring, Reza will relocate to Oxford to pursue a DPhil in Oriental Studies.