King's student from Halifax receives Rhodes Scholarship

A University of King's College student from Halifax has received a Rhodes Scholarship to pursue a masters of science in neuroscience next year at Oxford University in England.

King's College made the announcement on Monday about Isabelle Roach, a graduate of Citadel High School. The university said Roach is the 32nd King's student to become a Rhodes Scholar.

"It makes me really excited to get to go [to Oxford], it really is, like, the best university in the world, I can't think of a better place to be continuing my education," Roach, a fourth-year student, told CBC News on Tuesday.

 "It honestly makes me want to be better, being honoured in this way."

Past Rhodes scholars have included former U.S. president Bill Clinton, television host Rachel Maddow and Chrystia Freeland, Canada's deputy prime minister.

To prepare for the Rhodes Scholarship interview, Roach said the president and vice-president of King's helped her prepare.

"It's incredible to come here and not just be a number," she said.

How Roach found out

Roach, who is the captain of her school's volleyball team, was on a bus back from Moncton with the team when she received the phone call with the news.

"It took me a second to really let it sink in," Roach said.

"I turned to the girl next to me and my friend Taryn and we started kind of silently freaking out as the information was being delivered to me and then as soon as the phone call ended, I jumped up and started screaming."

Besides volleyball, Roach also sings in a choir and started a group called King's College Students for Sustainability.

At Oxford, she hopes to continue her work studying repetitive concussions and its complications.