A former Miss Jamaica Festival queen has edged out 10 other candidates to secure her spot as Jamaica’s 2025 Rhodes Scholar.

Twenty-two-year-old Aundrene Cameron was named as the awardee by Chief Executive Officer of the Port Authority of Jamaica, and this years’ Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee Chair, Gordon Shirley, during a ceremony at King’s House on Thursday.

Cameron was among six female and four male candidates who vied for the prestigious scholarship this year. Based at the University of Oxford since 1903, the Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s oldest graduate fellowship and has been awarded to one applicant from Jamaica every year since 1904.

“It was an absolutely difficult decision to make today, because we had 10 really very brilliant candidates and it took a lot of deliberation to get there. There could only be one, and today’s selection is for Ms Aundrene Cameron,” Professor Shirley said to a rousing applause from the finalists and members of the committee.

A former student of Campion College and Ardenne High School, the University of the West Indies, Mona graduate is bound for the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where she will pursue a Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Master of Philosophy in Law, with a specific focus on human trafficking.

Cameron currently holds a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and is in her second year of study at the Norman Manley Law School.

“I am trying to convince myself that this is real. It is such a beautiful moment. This gives me such an amazing opportunity, and I am just in awe. I am just so ready to be able to bring my contribution to Jamaica to the next level,” she said, moments after the announcement.

Secretary of the Selection Committee, Mariame McIntosh Robinson, said the members were “very pleased” with the quality and variety of the finalists’ pursuits.

“We had 10 finalists who span the arts, humanities, science and engineering. We would like to just thank them for continuing to inspire us. There can only be one Rhodes Scholar, but we will stay in touch with our finalists,” she noted.

The selection process aims to identify young people with proven academic excellence, exceptional character, leadership and a commitment to solving humanity’s challenges.

It includes a meticulous review process before the finalists are interviewed by a selection committee comprising Rhodes alumni and other leaders from diverse fields.