Meet University of Washington’s first Rhodes scholar in 13 years: 19

At just 19 years old, Shubham Bansal has a résumé that rivals someone in middle age.

On top of classes at the University of Washington, where he was accepted at 16 years old, he works in two research laboratories, holds an internship with the King County medical examiner’s office, runs a national nonprofit focused on overdose prevention and, on Fridays, he volunteers at a women’s shelter.

That’s exactly the kind of person who would win a Rhodes scholarship — and he did, last month. But when the selection committee read out the names of this year’s winners, Bansal assumed they were talking about someone else, even though he knew he was a finalist.

“I thought they pronounced someone’s name weird,” he said.

It took a moment for the news to sink in: He was one of just 32 students nationwid