Recent Queen’s graduate Aidan Gurung is selected as a 2025 Rhodes Scholar.
As one of the 11 Canadian recipients of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world—Rhodes Scholar Gurung, ConEd ’24, is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education and International Development at the University of Cambridge, Gurung is the 62nd Queen’s alumnus to receive this award most recently alongside Jane Hutchings, Comm ’21, Matthew Hynes, MD ’25, and Jevon Marsh, MSc ’20. The Rhodes Scholarship is a merit scholarship which awards a fully funded post-graduate degree at Oxford University.
Originally from Nepal, Gurung’s ion for education and global development shaped her academic journey at Queen’s and inspired her goal to pursue the Rhodes Scholarship. Her interest in education stems from her own childhood experiences growing up, where school was a privilege in contrast to Canada’s public schools where attending school is a regular occurrence.
“I want it to be so common in places like Nepal that kids don’t think about the fact that they want to go to school. They just get to go to school,” Gurung said in an interview with The Journal Gurung explained her initial interest in the scholarship was sparked by seeing a photo of a former Queen’s Rhodes Scholar sitting in their dorm.
“She was pictured in her Gord Brock dorm rooms and then she went on to win the Rhodes [scholarship] and I was sitting in my Gord Brock dorm room thinking, maybe that could be me too,” Gurung said.
According to Gurung, setting “impossible goals” for yourself is often the key to success.
“For me, Rhodes was something I called an “impossible goal”. I feel like a lot of times when we set goals, we only write down what we think is achievable. So I create a separate list of “impossible goals” that seem so out of reach its almost funny. By calling it impossible, I take the pressure off of it, making it easier to pursue it authentically. And it ended up working out with Rhodes,” Gurung said.
Reflecting on her time at Queen’s as vital to where she is now, Gurung pointed out opportunities like the summer research program she participated in—Queen’s Innovation Centre Summer Initiative—that set the University apart from the other schools in Canada. “Queen’s gives you so many opportunities to do your own thing, whether it’s research or a startup. So that’s where I created the menstrual equity startup with two other Queen’s students,” Gurung said.
In 2023, Gurung co-founded it’s comma, a menstrual equity startup that combines branding with social impact. The company operates as a marketing agency, providing free menstrual products in public spaces by offsetting manufacturing costs through paid ments on the products. In addition to this work, Gurung has experience with education startups, where she has leveraged technology to enhance learning opportunities in Canada and Korea.
Gurung attributed her success during the application process to the of her friends and partner, whom she met at Queen’s. Their encouragement, especially before the interview stage, helped her stay grounded and enabled her personality and authenticity to shine through.
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