January 11, 2002 UNT Inhouse publication: UNT student, basketball star is semifinalist for Rhodes Scholarship

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UNT student, basketball star is semifinalist for Rhodes Scholarship

UNT basketball stand-out Rosalyn Reades, a senior chemistry major and member of the University Honors Program, is the second UNT student ever to reach semi-finalist status for the coveted Rhodes Scholarship.

As a guard for the Lady Eagles, Reades led the team in assists (99) and steals (55) during the 2000-01 season. She also became the only Lady Eagle in UNT history to record 500 points, 400 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in a career.

James Duban, director of the UNT Office of Postgraduate Fellowships and chair of UNT's Rhodes Nominating Committee, says the committee "is absolutely delighted with Rosalyn's achievement in earning this invitation to interview for the Rhodes Scholarship."

"Rosalyn has distinguished herself in all of the right ways: as a member of the honors program, as the leading student in the Department of Chemistry, as a Multicultural Scholastic Award recipient and as one of the most outstanding athletes on the Lady Eagles basketball team," he says.

Other members of the Rhodes Nominating Committee are UNT faculty members Edra Bogle (English), Paul Braterman (chemistry), Les Brothers (music), Ishmael Bustinza (foreign languages and literatures), Marjorie Hayes (dance and theatre arts), Kimi King (political science) and Graham Phipps (music).

UNT alumna Tanya Schuessler, the only other UNT Rhodes Scholarship semifinalist, competed in 1999.

Reades plans to pursue a career as an emergency medicine physician. She says that if she were selected to study at Oxford, she would enter the university's degree program in philosophy, psychology and physiology to enhance her knowledge of the interaction between mind and body.

"Oxford's philosophy department appeals to me because of my interest in medical ethics. I would also benefit from philosophy classes that take account of psychology and neuroscience. This combination of subjects would help me meet my goal, when I become a physician, of viewing patients as complete persons, relative to mind and body," she says.

She says her interest in medicine began with a health technology class in high school. Students in the class rotated through floor units, observed surgeries, learned medical terminology and participated in mock-disaster drills at Arlington Memorial Hospital.

"Day after day, I found myself observing physicians and medical staff fighting to save lives. The sheer excitement and unpredictability of the emergency room fascinated me," she says. "I cannot help but see connections between sports and medicine: both require teamwork and discipline."

Reades learned more about medicine through her own leg injury. In March 2000, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the final game of the regular basketball season – a potentially career-ending injury that required three surgeries and more than 16 months of therapy.

"In my ordeal, I found something that at first seemed beyond my control. Despite countless hours of rehabilitation, the pain persisted. Still, I came to the decision that I would not let fear of failure keep me from what I loved most," she says. "I returned to the court and worked my way back to a starting position. The injury taught me about myself as well as about the will to overcome obstacles."

Reades' academic honors include being named the outstanding freshman, sophomore and junior in the UNT Department of Chemistry. She was also named to the 2001 All-Academic Team for the Sun Belt Conference and the 2000 All-Academic Team for the Big West Conference. She is a volunteer with the UNT Basketball Clinic, the Roseland Housing Projects in Dallas, providing a free basketball clinic, and with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program.

At Martin High School in Arlington, before her 1998 graduation, she was a finalist for the Eleanor Grace Martin Award, the highest honor given at the school.

Her high school athletic accomplishments include being selected as the District 8-5A Defensive Most Valuable Player during her senior year and being recognized as a second-team pick to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches all-region team and a first-team pick to the all-district team. She also played on the Team Texas Amateur Athletic Union squad that captured the regional championship in 1997 and the national title in 1998. In addition, Reades competed on the North Texas squad in the Junior Olympics in 1997.