A Bermudian Rhodes scholar rubbed shoulders with former US president Bill Clinton as hundreds of recipients of the award gathered in Oxford University for the 120th anniversary of the scholarship.

Kenza Wilks, the 2021 Rhodes scholar, said the event from June 29 to July 1 brought together 805 scholars from across the world.

Six other Bermuda Rhodes scholars attended: John Collins, Deirdre Collins, Christie Hunter Arscott, who is Bermuda's national secretary for the programme, Malcolm Brock, Lucy Hales and Aliyyah Ahad.

Mr Wilks, a Bermudian scholar in residence at Oxford, also highlighted that applications are now open for the 2024 Bermuda Rhodes scholarship, with the island’s organisers of the programme working keenly to broaden the diversity of candidates.

The scholarship spent its early history as the province of White males. The late Arthur Hodgson, a former environment minister for the Progressive Labour Party, was the island’s first Black Rhodes scholar.

Madison Quigg is this year’s scholar.

Mr Wilks, one of the organisers of the Oxford reunion who helped to interview Mr Clinton, said: “Obviously in the case of the Bermuda Rhodes scholarship broadening the diversity of applicants is a key priority of our recent secretary, Ms Hunter Arscott, in her outreach.

“There are really important things that Bermudian Rhodes scholars can do to contribute to the island. Having had the incredible opportunity to study abroad, one of the most cherished things I take from Oxford was the time I got to spend with other Rhodes scholars from the Caribbean — Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados and Belize.

“I now have friends who are very close to me from all these countries. I have been able to build an internationally diverse network of people who are committed to bringing change in their respective communities.”

Mr Wilks interviewed Mr Clinton with fellow scholar Misbah Reshi at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre on June 30, choosing questions from an audience of 300 “incredibly capable and intelligent people, scholars in residence and recent alumni”.

Mr Clinton, who attended Oxford as a Rhodes scholar after graduating from Georgetown University in 1968, brought “a very different context and a different experience from his time as a scholar”.

“We asked him about his experiences in Oxford, which was to the background of the Vietnam War,” Mr Wilks said.

“It was really interesting hearing him reminisce. We moved from there to having conversations about contemporary challenges such as climate change and the war in Ukraine, and how it relates to his experiences and the role his administration had in expanding Nato.

“I definitely felt nervous before getting the opportunity to meet him, but I was certainly put at ease by him and his demeanour. We delivered a really engaging session that lasted about an hour. It was an awesome opportunity.”

Mr Wilks has finished a two-year Master of Philosophy in Modern Chinese Studies, a unique programme combining the Chinese language with modules on Chinese politics.

His thesis, on Chinese migration to Africa, included a month of fieldwork in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, interviewing Chinese traders on their experience of moving to Africa. The thesis earned him a distinction.

Mr Wilks’s studies also took him Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for the final four months of 2022. After spending the summer at home, he plans to carry out his Rhodes service year in Henan province in China.

Helping to organise the anniversary reunion drove home the value of the scholarship, he said, and he hopes to increase his involvement in the Bermuda Rhodes scholarship.

“I think it’s a key responsibility for all former Rhodes scholars not only to engage in the Rhodes scholar community but to bring more people into it, either by way of helping out with the selection process or by raising the profile of the scholarship and the opportunities it brings.

“I’m really excited by the trajectory the Bermuda Rhodes scholarship is taking.”

The first Rhodes scholar from Bermuda was selected to enter Oxford in 1904, and since that time nearly 100 students from the island have been awarded the scholarship.

Aliyyah Ahad, an outreach ambassador for the Bermuda Rhodes scholarship since 2020 with Eleanor Altamura, also attended the Oxford gathering.

“It was fantastic going back to Oxford,” Ms Ahad said.

“The weekend was filled with interesting discussions and opportunities to meet and mingle with over 800 scholars from across constituencies and year groups. They say ‘once a Rhodes scholar, always a Rhodes scholar’, and I really felt the significance of that this weekend.

“I was grateful to see so many familiar faces from my time at Oxford and to hear about all the positive contributions my fellow scholars are making in their fields and their communities. But I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.”

Ms Ahad said that with Ms Hunter Arscott’s support, the team has worked to increase the volume and diversity of applicants.

She added: “Our advertising campaigns and engagement with local high schools and community organisations are bearing fruit, with greater awareness of the scholarship and more targeted outreach towards potential candidates.

“The Rhodes scholarship is a phenomenal opportunity for fully funded postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.”

She said the award enabled her to complete two one-year master's degrees and opened the door to work opportunities in Washington DC as well as London and Brussels, where she now lives.

“But by far the best part of studying at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar is being part of an incredible community of exceptional young people from around the world — many of whom become lifelong friends.”

Applications for the 2024 Bermuda Rhodes scholarship are now open until October 2.