Nate Jo

Nate Jo is the second person at Western to ever be selected as a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes scholarship, the first being in 2012. Only three percent of applicants become finalists and one percent are winners. Jo was encouraged by his sister’s confidence in him and devoted himself to the rigorous application with the same dedication he applied to his triple major, his roles as a student trustee on the Board of Trustees, at Associated Students, the LGBTQ+ Students of Color Club, and as captain of the swim team. Jo also worked for Speaker Laurie Jinkins as a legislative intern in the WA House of Representatives in 2021. The intense application required eight letters of recommendation and a letter of endorsement from WWU President Sabah Randhawa. Nate said of the experience, “they say it takes a village to submit a Rhodes application, and I found that to be very true.”  Jo was one of 14 finalists in our district, which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Though Jo wasn’t one of the two students from our district selected as a Rhodes Scholar and Oxford attendee, becoming a finalist has opened up a wealth of opportunities. Nate planned to attend the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Master’s program in Science in Philosophy and Public Policy after his graduation from Western, hopefully with aid from a Fulbright grant before applying again for the Rhodes to complete the Master in Philosophy in Evidenced-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation or Bachelor in Philosophy with focuses on housing policy and political philosophy. Jo graduated from Western as a WWU Presidential Scholar, Pride Foundation Scholar, and a GSBA Scholar, as well as with the Erwin S. Mayer Inspirational Leadership Award from Western’s College of Business and Economics.