Tiana Dinham selected as the 2026 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Tiana Shante Dinham has been chosen to be the Jamaica Rhodes Scholar for 2026.
She was selected from eight finalists following a meeting of the 2026 Jamaica Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee on Thursday.
Dinham, a past student of Mount Alvernia High School, who hails from Hanover, is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursuing studies in Geological and Earth Sciences. She created RISE, the Rainwater Initiative for Sustainability and Empowerment, and worked with the Hanover Health Department to raise funds to purchase and place water tanks in multiple communities. Tank recipients were trained on the proper water collection, treatment and storage.
Dinham intends to pursue a master’s degree in water science, policy and management, and sustainability, enterprise and the environment.
She will be heading to the University of Oxford in October 2026 to join a cohort of more than 100 scholars from around the world to undertake fully funded post-graduate studies and become part of a strong community of people determined to make a positive difference in the world.
The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest (first awarded in 1902) and most prestigious international scholarship programme, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.
Students from anywhere in the world can apply for a Rhodes Scholarship.
This year’s selection committee was chaired by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen. Other members of the selection committee include Mariame McIntosh Robinson (1998 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar), Rhodes Trust national secretary for Jamaica; Professor Trevor Munroe (1966 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar); Paul Lalor (1990 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar); Dr Nadiya Figueroa (2007 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar); Dr Alecia Johns-Nunes (2010 Jamaica Rhodes Scholar); and Professor Michael Taylor, dean of Faculty of Science and Engineering, and head of the Climate Studies Group at University of the West Indies.
Prominent Jamaican Rhodes Scholars include Norman Manley, Noel Nethersole, Rex Nettleford, Dudley Thompson and Hector Wynter. Living Jamaican Rhodes Scholars include Delroy Chuck (minister of justice), Dr Nigel Clarke (minister of finance) and Ronnie Thwaites (former minister of education).
