The Eye Interviews CU’S Two Rhodes Scholars
Deans of Admissions dream of prospective students like George Olive, CC ’08. When the Rhodes and Marshall scholarship recipients were announced earlier this month, Olive got two pleasant surprises—he’d been chosen for both awards. Because each scholarship is exclusive, Olive couldn’t accept both, so he declined the Marshall. Despite his status as one of the most celebrated college seniors in the country, Olive is earnest and articulate, and he manages to render infectious his enthusiasm for international energy policy. We’d give him a scholarship, too.
—Alexandria Symonds
What made you decide to take the Rhodes?
The most important difference is that the Marshall allows you to study anywhere, and the Rhodes is tied to Oxford itself. I was planning to go to Oxford either way, and given that, I decided that I would rather be in the program that was centered at Oxford.
What are you going to be studying?
I’ll be reading for a Master’s in Economics ... I’m hoping to specialize in development economics surrounding energy infrastructure. That’s what really interests me. Specifically, the research I’m hoping to do surrounds questions like, “What is it that makes a region or a country or an economy at a particular time suitable or not suitable for energy investment?”
So would you support nuclear proliferation in Iran?
Iran is an interesting case because they have so much fossil energy sitting under them. From a purely energy-security point of view, Iran is one of the weakest arguments for nuclear energy. I would say that for nuclear energy to re-emerge as a major contributor to total energy supply, what’s going to have to happen is that we’ll have to transcend this nation-by-nation approach where nations assert their autonomous right to pursue any sort of energy they want.
As someone who is the face behind one of the numbers, what do you think of the Rhodes and Marshall numbers game that goes on—the competition between schools?
I think, for instance, it’s pretty obvious that Yale has a structure that is more conducive to this game. The residential college system—they have people in those residential colleges who pick you out when you’re a freshman or a sophomore and they help you from then on, and you’re always under their tutelage and watchful eye. We don’t have anything like that here. I mean, the Columbia way of doing things is particularly not suited for these sort of scholarships.
What’s your number one piece of advice for someone who wants to apply?
Don’t be afraid to march up to a professor who does something you think is interesting and ask them about it, and ask them if there’s anything you can do for them. Kids at Columbia are smart, in general. When it comes to these kinds of things, you are your own worst enemy—as corny as it sounds. It’s really just about thinking that you can do it. You figure out pretty early on, at least most people, that nobody is ever going to open a door for you and push you through here.
What’s your life like besides being a Rhodes scholar?
I think I’m a pretty normal guy. I’m not really overly cerebral, I don’t think. I snowboard. I’m from a small town in Missouri. Those sorts of things.
Jason Bello, CC ’08, recently helped Columbia break its five-year Rhodes Scholarship drought. In addition to general academic excellence, he holds officer positions in Gayava and the BSO, hosts a cooking show on CTV, and has run a marathon. He sat down with an old friend, me, to talk about things.
—J.D. Porter
Someone told me that if you’re a Rhodes finalist the judges make you go to some kind of fancy dinner with them.
They make it sound like it’s a fancy club, but it’s not. What happens is if you’re invited for an interview one component is social. I had a cocktail party at a fancy New York social club and the food was delicious. I think all the other finalists and I were like, it’s OK to have a glass in your hand, to have a drink, but by no means eat anything.
Why?
Because for one thing it takes two hands and then you don’t want to shake a greasy hand that’s been holding a hotdog or something. So I think all of us went in saying we weren’t going to eat anything. But then they had all this really great food. They had braised beef meatballs that were deep-fried, polenta fries with black truffles on top—really good food, and not a single person was eating it, myself included. And after a while of all this food passing by me, I just broke down, and started eating, and the food was delicious. I did not regret that decision.
Did anyone else break down?
No, I was the only one. Everyone was being so uptight and not eating, but you can look comfortable by comparison, that’s what I thought. So I started eating.
Are you still getting up at 7:00 a.m. every day?
Yeah, because I have class at 8:30 a.m. — so that’ll get you up.
Is that the secret to your success? Early to bed, early to rise?
It could be wrong. Different things for different folks. Or different strokes for different folks, I guess. That’s the way it goes.
How did the marathon running go?
It was great. I ran with my friend James. I guess it’s a bit misleading to say I ran it with James. I started with James, and he finished an hour before me. So it’s a bit misleading to say we ran together for any length of time.
How long did it take?
It took me a cool four and a half hours.
How does that stack up?
It’s middle of the pack. Or it’s slightly worse than middle. I’d still call myself middle of the pack.
Which marathon was it?
Virginia Beach. It was sponsored by Yuengling, the beer company, and it was right after my 21st birthday, so my first legal drink was at the finish line.
You had a beer after running a marathon?
You know, you’d be surprised, after you’ve run 26 miles there is not a thing you want more. When you finish 26 miles and you’ve got this ice-cold beer in your hand, it’s like a Coors Light commercial.