Hazim Hardeman Becomes a Rhodes Scholar, the Second Graduate in Three Years to Win a Scholarship to the Prestigious University of Oxford
Contact: Linda Wallace, 215-751-8082, liswallace [at] ccp.edu
Rhonda L. Lipschutz, 215-751-8021, rlipschutz [at] ccp.edu
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 21, 2017–Hazim Hardeman is the first graduate from Community College of Philadelphia to become a Rhodes Scholar, and the only winner in 2018 to have attended a community college. In fall 2018, he will enroll at Oxford, one of the world’s leading universities, to pursue a master’s degree.
After receiving his associate degree in Communications in 2015, Hardeman, who served as a vice president of the Student Government Association, graduated with High Honors. He then transferred to Temple University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communications and Public Advocacy.
He grew up four blocks from Temple; his single mother found a way to enroll him in a better elementary school a half hour away. He has devoted his academic career “to lifting up the voices of my community.” He has written on hip-hop music, gun control and the prison abolition movement, and is currently a substitute teacher in the School District of Philadelphia.
This marks the second time in three years that a graduate from the College has won a prominent scholarship to Oxford University. In 2015, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation named alumnus L. Larry Liu its first-ever Oxford Scholar, which it established in an unprecedented partnership with Lincoln College at the University of Oxford. Liu, who earned his bachelor’s in Sociology and Economic Policy from the University of Pennsylvania, was given up to $85,000 to earn his graduate degree from Lincoln College.
“This marks yet another joyful milestone for our College community,” said Dr. Donald Guy Generals, president of the College. “Community College of Philadelphia provides accessible and affordable paths to the Ivy League, and to the campuses of our respected partners like Temple University and the workplaces beyond. Today, more and more scholars are enrolling because they know they can travel to just about any destination from there–while spending less money along the way.”
Many students have stepped into impressive careers and educational paths after leaving the College. Deesha Dyer, a 2012 graduate in Women’s Studies, went from the classroom to a job at the White House. She finished her associate degree online while working in Washington, D.C. United States Congressman Dwight Evans, an alumnus, was elected to represent the 2nd District of Pennsylvania. Moreover, recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse indicates students also are winding their way onto Ivy League campuses. Among the students who entered the College for the first time between spring 2006 and spring 2016, 564 have enrolled at an Ivy League institution, including 498 at the University of Pennsylvania and 35 at Harvard University
The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year, 32 students from the United States are selected as Rhodes Scholars and are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. Applicants are chosen on the basis of the criteria set down in the Will of Cecil Rhodes.
The 32 Rhodes Scholars chosen from the United States will join an international group of
scholars chosen from more than 20 other jurisdictions (64 different countries) around the world.
According to the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, records indicate that only a few Rhodes Scholars have listed community colleges on their scholarship applications. Secondary institutions are not required to disclose if an applicant has an associate degree.
About Community College of Philadelphia
Community College of Philadelphia is the largest public institution of higher education in Philadelphia and the sixth largest in Pennsylvania. The College enrolls approximately 34,000 students annually and offers day, evening, and weekend classes, as well as classes online. Visit the College at www.ccp.edu. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.