An Iowan has learned she will be a Rhodes Scholar. Applicants for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship tend to be good students but also those interested in leadership. Pearson, a native of Indianola, says many describe it as public service. She figures the Rhodes establishment is interested in people who want to be leaders, probably at a global level, and she’s met many interested in third-world development — which is a focus of hers, too. Pearson says “I’ve always wanted to do something of significance,” and a couple internships in recent years showed her she enjoys the work and can “really get things done” working in small organizations. Pearson just learned November first she was a candidate and says she never thought she’d win. This past Saturday she was in Minneapolis for district-level interviews and after all the interviews were finished, applicants there waited about four hours before the panel came out and told them who’d won. The senior at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, says she hadn’t given any thought to actually winning the scholarship, which will take her to the University of Oxford, in England.She thought she needed a break from school and was planning on taking a year off after she graduates in the spring. Now she’s learned that in September she’ll fly to D-C for a weekend with the other scholars, then they’ll all fly to Oxford together and begin a program focusing on development studies. The British school says on its website that it tries to pick students from new schools each time, and doesn’t limit scholars to any particular degree or career track, but looks for qualities in addition to academic excellence. Learn more at http://www.rhodesscholar.org/