Walton High School graduate receives Rhodes Scholarship

Sam Patterson, Walton graduate Rhodes Scholarship

Sam Patterson, a 2017 graduate of Walton High School, has received a Rhodes Scholarship.

A senior at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, he’s one of 32 American students awarded the prestigious scholarship each year, which supports graduate study at the University of Oxford in England.

Here’s more from UMBC about Sam and what he wants to study at Oxford and his plans beyond that:

Patterson will pursue an M.Sc. in the Nature, Society, and Environmental Governance program at Oxford focusing on the economics of transportation. This research area will take full advantage of his three undergraduate degrees from UMBC. This spring, Patterson will earn bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and statistics and a bachelor of arts in economics.
A Meyerhoff Scholar and member of the Honors College, Patterson has steadily nurtured his interest in transportation economics at UMBC and through intensive summer internships. He conducted research supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at Harvard University with the Harvard Leadership Alliance and at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Most recently, at the National Bureau of Economic Research, he evaluated trends in transportation changes in urban centers due to the pandemic.
A strong network of support has been a cornerstone of Patterson’s UMBC experience. “From the Meyerhoff Scholars program to the Honors College to Dr. Householder to Naomi Mburu [UMBC’s first Rhodes Scholar] to my recommenders and mock interviewers and beyond, I’ve never had so many people on my team before, pushing me to achieve something I’m pursuing,” Patterson shares.
A transformative opportunity

Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Patterson’s education and internships have taken him around the U.S. However, he has never traveled abroad, so the Rhodes Scholarship offers a unique opportunity for him to broaden his perspective by studying in the U.K. and visiting other European countries. He hopes to further deepen his understanding of challenges—and potential solutions—related to a range of transportation systems.
“I’m so excited to go to the U.K.! I think it will do wonders for my research when I experience the European perspective on public transportation and its place in society and sustainability,” Patterson says. “There are so many brilliant academics at Oxford that I’m raring to meet. I just feel so fortunate to be where I am and to be going where I’m going.”
After Oxford, Patterson already has plans to attend Harvard University for a Ph.D. Before he gets there, though, Patterson and his mentors have no doubt the Rhodes experience will be transformative.
“The Rhodes Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for exceptional young people with the potential to make a difference for good in the world. Sam has that mixture of grit and excellence that is the best of what UMBC represents,” Householder says. “His experience in the U.K. will enrich not only his academic path, but also his personal journey in so many profound ways. I can’t wait to see what he will accomplish.”