From Florida State to Oxford: Character, the Rhodes Scholarship, and the Gap Year

Joe O'Shea

Abstract

This article discusses a personal journey of character and identity development over the course of an undergraduate career in the United States and graduate studies at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Through this personal narrative and the ongoing research that it has inspired on the Gap Year, the article explores the importance of character development for youth today and the role that universities can play in assisting students to achieve it.