Emory, Georgia Tech students chosen as Rhodes scholars

Two students from Georgia universities have been selected as Rhodes scholars in a class with the most ever African-Americans and transgender man chosen.

The Rhodes Trust announced Saturday that Chelsea Jackson and Calvin Runnels are among the 32 students selected to receive a scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Jackson is one of the 10 African-Americans who will receive financial support. The Lithonia, Georgia, native is a senior at Emory University majoring in political science and African American studies double major in Emory College of Arts and Sciences. She is the fourth woman and first African-American student from Emory College to receive the scholarship.

Runnels is the second transgender Rhodes scholar from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a senior at the Georgia Institute of Technology pursuing a degree in biochemistry maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

Jackson is Emory's 20th student to receive a Rhodes scholarship.