'I'm just tickled pink': Childhood friends from New Brunswick named Rhodes Scholars

Two young women from New Brunswick have won one of the most prestigious and sought-after academic honours in the world.

Not only are Claire Wilbur and Alyssa Xu Rhodes Scholars – they’re also childhood friends.

Wilbur is completing an honours degree in biochemistry from Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., where she has a perfect 4.3 GPA.

She is also captain of the university cross-country team, volunteers with Soldier On campaign, which is a charity working with wounded and ill soldiers and veterans, and is a research assistant at the New Brunswick Heart Centre, where she is studying high-risk cardiac interventions.

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Xu is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in neuroscience while writing an honours thesis at Amherst College in Massachusetts.

She is a varsity hockey player and is president of the Amherst chapter of Amnesty International.

Xu also volunteers with a mobile health clinic, and is an EMT for Amherst College Emergency Medical Services.

Alyssa Xu (left) and Claire Wilbur are pictured at New River Beach in New Brunswick. (Courtesy: Claire Wilbur)

Both women were born in Saint John, N.B., just a day apart, went to elementary school together and played on some of the same sports teams.

They even carpooled to their interviews with Oxford University as part of the Rhodes Scholarship process.

Both got the good news of their acceptance in a phone call Monday and will begin their studies at Oxford in October 2025.

Wilbur says she was shocked when she received the news. She adds the excitement of it all still hasn’t sunk in.

Alyssa Xu (left) and Claire Wilbur are pictured during a shared birthday celebration. The friends were born one day apart. (Courtesy: Claire Wilbur)

“I'm so flattered. I'm just tickled pink about the opportunity and it’s that much more exciting that I get to go with one of my oldest friends. I really think it's going to be a catalyst for my future career and my long-term goals,” she said.

“The opportunity to perform research alongside expert scientists, leaders in the field and to interact with so many diverse people at Oxford and in the Rhodes community, I think will make me a better person and foster my academic and personal growth in a way that I've never had the opportunity to do before.”

Xu says she’s overjoyed with the opportunity and looks forward to studying overseas.

“We didn't even let ourselves imagine that this would be possible. We didn't want to set our expectations too high, so the fact that this was like, the perfect outcome, I could not think of any better way to win a scholarship with my best friend. That was just a moment of, this is so incredible and truly a dream come true,” said Xu.

Alyssa Xu (left) and Claire Wilbur are pictured holding plaques. (Courtesy: Claire Wilbur)

Nine other Canadian students were also awarded Rhodes Scholarships this year.

The scholarship is a fully funded post-graduate award that enables young people from around the world to study at Oxford.

“Our eleven Rhodes Scholars deeply impressed the Selection Committees with their intelligence, passion, and most importantly, their humanity,” said Richard Pan, the Canadian secretary for the Rhodes Trust and the chair for the Rhodes Scholarships in Canada, in a Monday news release.

“We need leaders and doers like these in the world. They each carry a profound sense of responsibility to the communities around them and the will to make a difference. As proud as we are of our scholars’ achievements to-date, we are even more excited for their contributions to come.”

Wilbur hopes to pursue a Master of Science in physiology, anatomy, and genetics at Oxford, and Xu is interested in a Master of Science in translational health sciences.

The pair, who’s always pushed each other from a young age, say they’re excited to continue to do so with this opportunity.

“The fact that we're coming back together somewhere as incredible as Oxford, and just knowing that I have my lifelong and childhood best friend there too, is going to be a huge source of comfort and just a joy in general,” said Xu.

“We had planned a European trip after graduation prior to receiving the scholarship, and now we get to spend two years in Europe together. It will be a huge comfort to have such a good friend and someone who knows what home is like,” said Wilbur.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.