You know, the incredible achievements of the people who get Rhodes (& other ultra-elite) scholarships pisses me off. They clearly need a leg up less than just about every other person in existence.
Beneath the ressentiment there might dwell a valid point about the purpose of the scholarships.
How the hell did he have time for that? I'm not the most active person, but during my fits of activity, I still can only accomplish so much. The one university club I co-founded eventually floundered after the other student and I drowned in course work. I can't help but suspect that his resume is padded.
Not everyone who gets a Rhodes Scholarship resembles a greek god to this degree. The one R scholar I've known was an alumnus of my university, and she claims to not have much knowledge of how she got it, aside for a pristine GPA. Her extra-curricular activities consisted of intramurals her junior or senior year.
If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure he had a good knowledge of English, at least in terms of grammar and vocabulary, when he arrived. The EFL classes were probably "just" to bring his speaking skills up to speed.
Oh, and no, it doesn't make me feel any better either.
" founded an organization to . . . teach sex education to incarcerated youth."
Hmmmmm. Hmmmmmmmm?
Uh huh.
Okay.