3 Carolina seniors win Rhodes scholarships

For the second time ever, Carolina has three Rhodes scholars in the same year.

Seniors Rotimi Kukoyi and Gabrielle Moreau received the honor on Saturday, joining fellow senior Tiana Dinham in the 2026 Rhodes scholars class. With 57 recipients in its history, UNC-Chapel Hill is now a No. 1 public university for Rhodes scholars.

“On behalf of the University, I am delighted to congratulate our newest Rhodes Scholars, Tiana Dinham, Rotimi Kukoyi and Gabrielle Moreau,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “They embody Carolina’s mission through their commitment to service and meaningful impact. This recognition reflects their exceptional promise and dedication to using their talents for the greater good. We are confident they will seize this opportunity and continue to make Carolina proud.”

Kukoyi is from Hoover, Alabama, and won a Rhodes scholarship for the U.S. constituency. Kukoyi is a Morehead-Cain scholar and Honors Carolina student majoring in health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health with minors in chemistry and biology. He is senior class president, a Truman scholar and a “Jeopardy!” champion.

Kukoyi is a public health leader and has worked for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Nigeria. On campus, he has leadership roles with Campus Health as well as the UNC Student Health Action Coalition. At Oxford, Kukoyi will pursue the Master of Science in health improvement and evaluation and the Master of Science in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation.

“Being selected as a Rhodes scholar is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Kukoyi said. “At Oxford, I will study how we build health systems that prevent harm before it happens. Public health is at an inflection point, and we need leaders who can bridge evidence-based policy with the lived realities of the communities most affected.”

Moreau is from Toronto and won a Rhodes scholarship for the Canada constituency. Moreau is a Robertson scholar and Honors Carolina student majoring in geography at the UNC College of Arts and Sciences with a second major in environmental science from Duke University. She is a citizen of both Canada and the Métis Nation of Ontario.

Moreau is a leader in Indigenous governance and environmental conservation. For the past five years she has served as the Ontario representative of the Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council. Moreau has participated in multiple international summits, including being a youth delegate at COP16 in Colombia. She has worked at the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development, gained on-the-ground experiential learning in the arctic through the Students on Ice program, and studied abroad at both King’s College London and the School for Field Studies in Cambodia. At Oxford, Moreau plans to pursue a Master of Philosophy in political theory.

“I am still in disbelief that I’m now a Rhodes scholar,” said Moreau. “At Oxford, I plan to pursue an MPhil in political theory to engage with theories of justice and human rights. I hope later to bring this knowledge to bear upon doctoral work in human geography on Indigenous conceptions of knowledge and justice.”

Dinham is from Jamaica and won the scholarship for the Jamaica constituency. She is also a Robertson scholar and Honors Carolina student, majoring in geological sciences at the UNC College of Arts and Sciences with a minor in geography.

She focuses her work on the fate and transport of contaminants in groundwater and sediment systems and explores ways to harness the Earth’s resources while also preserving the environment. In a ceremony hosted by the governor-general of Jamaica to announce the scholarship, Dinham dedicated the honor to the people of west Jamaica, who were recently struck by the devastating Hurricane Melissa.

Established in 1902, the Rhodes scholarship provides fully funded graduate study at the University of Oxford and is considered one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards.

“Carolina’s 2026 graduating class has three Rhodes scholars. Our students are amazing,” said Marc Howlett, executive director of the Office of Distinguished Scholarships in Honors Carolina. “I’m fully confident that Rotimi Kukoyi, Gabrielle Moreau and Tiana Dinham will make significant and lasting positive impacts on the world. I can’t wait to see what they do at Oxford and beyond.”