With her 2012 Rhodes scholarship barely in hand, undergraduate Sarah St. John is already envisioning how she’ll use it to strengthen her efforts to help solve global challenges.

St. John doesn’t graduate with a BSc. from the Faculty of Health Sciences and a certificate in sustainable community development from the Faculty of Environment until next spring.

But BC’s newest Rhodes scholar, and SFU’s fourth recipient, knows she’ll use it to pursue a master’s in public policy at Oxford University. The award is worth up to $100,000.

“I love learning about how global, national and local policies affect the ability of communities to address environmental, social and economic determinants of health and well-being,” says St. John. “In today’s world, policy makers and politicians need to come together, regardless of their ideological ties, to solve significant global challenges, including climate change and global inequity.”

The three-time recipient of Canadian Red Cross awards has worked extensively with the organization, including coordinating Humanity Strikes Back — a youth conference.  In 2010, she was a youth delegate with the International Federation of the Red Cross at a United Nations convention on climate change in Mexico.

“It’s the developing world that has the lowest carbon footprint, yet is feeling the most impact of climate change because it doesn’t have the developed world’s technology and capacity to adapt,” says St. John.

Working first as a board member and then the external chair for Sustainable SFU, St. John garnered SFU undergrads’ agreement to contribute $100,000 annually to the organization through a fee added to their tuition.

Only one of 11 annual Rhodes scholarships awarded in Canada goes to a BC recipient. Elizabeth Elle, associate professor of biology, sat on the 2012 seven-member Rhodes selection committee for BC, which assessed 18 applicants.

 “Sarah was impressive in the depth of her commitment to service, and also in her academic breadth,” says Elle. “She has done extremely well in both challenging science courses as well as a diverse array of social sciences courses. Not many individuals can excel across the disciplines the way Sarah has.”

St. John has maintained a 4.1 GPA and enjoys a variety of recreational activities, including hiking, paddling and Cuban salsa dancing.