A  Rose  is  a  Rhodes . . .

By Paula Saha
News and Information Services

When she gets to Oxford University this fall, Rhodes Scholar Fiona Rose '98 is looking forward to more than her studies.

"I can be anonymous if I want to be--I'm excited about that," says the classical archaeology major and Ann Arborite.

Only major-sport athletes tend to have a problem with anonymity at large universities, but Rose is known throughout the campus. She is former president of the Michigan Student Assembly, spent a summer at an archaeological dig in Pompeii, has been invited to the White House, was named one of Glamour magazine's outstanding college women of the year and, most recently, topped off her undergraduate career by being named a Rhodes Scholar.

Now she gets to breathe. But only for a moment before resuming her archaeological studies in England. There, the woman who spent her undergraduate career in the campus public eye hopes to fade from view-but just for a little while. Planning a future in public education and administration, this thoughtful 22-year-old may become well-known at the national level one day.

As Rose put it in her personal statement for the Rhodes selection committee, "Before I move on to a career in the modern civic world, I want a firm rooting in its ancient antecedents."

> In many ways, Rose has already started to gain that foundation. First attracted to archaeology her freshman year after a course in Greek civilization, she spent last summer in Pompeii, excavating a second-century BC house with a British research team. Her senior honors thesis, a study of the conflicting roles of children in Roman art and law, connects her modern-day political convictions with her academic interests. In studying history, she has learned that "the literary record alone is not accurate-those were privileged people who could read and write. Archaeologists tell stories of ordinary people."

It is ordinary people that Rose is interested in working for and with. Having spent the early part of her life in public housing and on public assistance, she developed a passion for helping those in need. She volunteered on her first political campaign at 12. By 17, she was a full-time paid coordinator for a US Senate campaign.

Her freshman year at U-M, Rose ran for a student assembly seat, and by sophomore year, she was elected president. "I thought the assembly needed to do a better job of addressing real students' needs," she says. On that note, she lobbied heavily for increased child care support for student parents. Her efforts led to the establishment of a $200,000 child care scholarship program.

Her drive to establish the program was rooted in her own history. "I grew up in student child care-at 22, my mother was a struggling college student with two kids. I know how hard it is for student parents. As a part of Student Assembly, I had a position from which I could make a difference."

In September, Glamour's named her one of the outstanding college women of the year, an honor that included a scholarship and a photo shoot and glossy spread in the magazine.

"I thought a lot about being in a fashion magazine," Rose says. "I finally decided that the opportunity was great because of the scholarship. But once I met the women behind the magazine, I was really impressed with the feminist threads that run throughout the organization and think it's about as noble as a fashion magazine can get.

"And as great as it is to be a Rhodes scholar," she adds, smiling, "there are no free lipstick samples!"

Now she looks forward to exploring "a different Fiona Rose."

"I need to re-evaluate who I am," she says. "It's very easy to talk about being a humanist-but if I don't apply that in my day-to-day activities, it doesn't mean a thing."

Fiona Rose seems likely to meet many of the standards she sets for herself. But will she achieve anonymity at Oxford? That remains to be seen.