University of Wisconsin-Madison seniors Felicity Klingele and Sophie Boes were finalists this year for the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious and selective undergraduate academic honors in the world.

The Rhodes Trust announced the 32 winners on Nov. 16. An additional 206 American students were finalists for the coveted awards, including Klingele and Boes.

Klingele, of Madison, Wisconsin, is double majoring in psychology and philosophy and completing a senior honors thesis in philosophy. She will complete her bachelor's degree this December. Boes, of Rochester, Minnesota, is double majoring in political science and English language and linguistics, with honors in the liberal arts and in the English major. She will graduate in May 2025.

"Felicity and Sophie should be very proud of all they've accomplished - it is an immense honor to make it to the finalist stage for the Rhodes Scholarship," says Julie Stubbs, director of UW-Madison's Undergraduate Academic Awards Office. "Beyond academic excellence, both are concerned for the welfare of others and committed to using their talents to improve communities. That ambition to serve the common good is at the heart of the Wisconsin Idea and the Rhodes Scholarship."

Klingele began college at age 15 and completed courses at Madison College before transferring to UW-Madison. She is a recipient of UW-Madison's Charles Manthey Winter Philosophy Scholarship and co-founded the UW-Madison Philosophical Society, where students meet weekly throughout the semester to discuss philosophical works and ethical questions. Under Klingele's leadership, meetings have become a place where students can express and explore a diversity of viewpoints through civil discourse.

Klingele is a fellow for UW's Catholic Social and Political Thought Initiative, and she founded both a women's mental health support group and a women's philosophy and theology group at Saint Paul's Catholic Student Center. Klingele also serves on the Diocese of Madison's life and ethics board. Additionally, she is a member of the UWPD Police Advisory Council, sharing community feedback on the department's practices and policies with UWPD staff.

Boes has received eight institutional merit awards, including the competitive Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which funds an independent research project completed under the mentorship of UW-Madison faculty. Boes has contributed to multiple projects as a research assistant in Professor Jacee Cho's Second Language Acquisition Lab, earning authorship on a presentation at the 2023 International Conference of Experimental Linguistics in Athens, Greece, and a paper published in the conference proceedings.

Boes volunteers as a childcare specialist at a community center that supports families affected by child sexual abuse. She also has served as a writing tutor for elementary school students and undergraduates, applying her English linguistics expertise to meaningful community service.

As a sophomore, Boes was selected as a UW-Madison writing fellow. This fall, she assumed the role of writing fellow assistant director. Also this fall, Boes is an undergraduate teaching fellow for Counseling Psychology 125, a one-credit course for first-year students.

Rhodes Scholarships provide all expenses for several years of study at the University of Oxford in England. Candidates are judged on a proven record of intellectual and academic achievement, integrity of character, interest in and respect for others, leadership ability, and the energy to fully utilize their talents.

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