Luiza Diniz Vilanova CC’24 has been named a 2025 Rhodes Scholar. She is among 32 Americans chosen for the prestigious scholarship, which provides funding for two or three years of postgraduate study at Oxford.
“Luiza has been such a generous and dynamic contributor to the Columbia community,” says Ariella Lang, associate dean of academic affairs and director of undergraduate research and fellowships. “Both Oxford and the Rhodes communities will benefit from the energy she brings to everything she does.”
U.S. Rhodes candidates must be nominated by their university before going through an extensive application process; selection within the United States and among all international regions is highly competitive. Criteria include academic excellence, a commitment to the welfare of others and to contributing to good in the world, and evidence of good character and promise of great leadership.
Born in the United States and raised in Brazil, Vilanova graduated magna cum laude with concentrations in political science and education. As an undergraduate, Vilanova was a Laidlaw Scholar, investigating changes in campaign finance legislation and the impact of widespread civic engagement, and assessing strategies and methodologies to support women’s political leadership. A recipient of Fundação Estudar’s Leaders Scholarship, her other research projects included conducting comparative education policy analysis between Finland and Brazil, with a focus on infrastructure, teacher training and curriculum.
Vilanova also received the Edwin Robbins Academic Research/Public Service Fellowship and the Lubar Family Research Fellowship. A senior marshal, she earned a King’s Crown Leadership Excellence Award and was inducted into the Political Science Honor Society.
Vilanova returned to Brazil after graduation to continue her work with Tocando em Frente, an organization she founded in 2021 which is dedicated to ending school dropout rates in Brazil’s rural communities. As CEO, she has expanded the organization to reach 11,000 children in more than 19 Brazilian states as well as in seven other countries.
The first Brazilian citizen to be named a Rhodes Scholar, Vilanova intends to pursue a master’s of public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and an M.Sc. in comparative and international education.
Current students and alumni can learn more about the Rhodes and other fellowship offerings through the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships office.