Brooklyn's Thamara Jean will spend time studying at the prestigious Oxford University in England after being handpicked for the selective Rhodes Scholarship.
The 21-year-old Hunter College senior is among a handful of students chosen from hundreds of applicants.
Jean credits her dedication to internships, community service and passion for social change.
"We go to eighth- and 12th-grade classrooms and teach civics education," she says. "We give the students the option to engage in their community and tackle a project that they want to see improved in their neighborhood."
Jean says her parents, who are both from Haiti, are "extremely proud."
"They root for me with everything that I do," she says.
At Oxford, she will study political theory.
"I intend to be politically active in every step of my life going forward," she says.