Moses Lake woman becomes Rhodes scholar finalist

MOSES LAKE - Analiesse Isherwood was on her way to the bus stop when she received email notification that her application as a Rhodes Scholar finalist had been accepted, or rejected. And the subject line wasn't very revealing.

"I almost shut down the e-mail," anticipating rejection and wanting to delay the news for a while, Isherwood said. But in fact the news was good. Isherwood is one of 16 finalists from the Northwest; the winners will be announced Saturday.

Isherwood, 22, has a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Western Washington University and is in her second year at the University of Washington Medical School.

The Rhodes scholarships are among the most prestigious academic awards in the world. Students win the right to study at the University of Oxford in Great Britain.

The application process is a challenge in itself, Isherwood said. She submitted eight letters of recommendation, a letter from Western's president, an essay on the scholarship's value to her and a curriculum vitae, which includes samples of her work and professional qualifications.

The 16 regional finalists are invited to lunch with the seven-member selection committee, six of them previous Rhodes scholars. "Very formal and in some ways very nerve-wracking," Isherwood said. The candidates can and will be asked questions at any time, she said, and she expected other challenges to see how well the candidates think in uncontrolled situations.

Each candidate is interviewed separately on Friday or Saturday, and then the candidates wait while the committee deliberates. If she's selected, Isherwood will be the first Rhodes scholar from Western.

It means a lot to represent her alma mater and her hometown, she said, and to explain where she's from and who influenced her life.

But Isherwood said the process has been good for her, whether or not she is selected. "For my material to be in their hands is very humbling," she said.

Isherwood applied for a double major, medical anthropology and global health sciences. The choices are a reflection of her plan to practice medicine among people who need it most, inside and outside the United States.

Her goal, Isherwood said, is to "provide health care for the least served of the world, no matter where they're located." A lot of that under served population is located outside the United Sates, and has different cultural practices. Isherwood has seen this firsthand on her trips to Haiti, she said.

"You can't assume that our practice of medicine is going to work for other cultures. You have to adapt your practice," she said. Medical anthropology classes would provide important instruction in the effect of culture on the practice of medicine, and global health science classes would show how to translate those insights into practice, she said.

With two more years of medical school there's time to change her mind, she said, but her current plan is to specialize in family medicine and practice in a small town somewhere in the Northwest, with chances to go overseas.

Whether or not she receives the Rhodes scholarship, she's grateful for the chances she's had, she said. "I'll either be a doctor in two and half years or a doctor and a Rhodes scholar in four and a half years. I'm incredibly blessed."