A young woman from Missouri who won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University has left the program after accusations that she misrepresented her life experience on her application form.
The Times reported that Fierceton was a low-income student at the University of Pennsylvania. She was named as a recipient of the scholarship in November 2020, and in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer she claimed to have been in the foster care system.
The oldest graduate scholarship in the world is the Rhodes Scholarship, which takes on 32 US students a year. Bill Clinton and Pete Buttigieg are recipients.
The University of Pennsylvania received an anonymous tip-off that led to questions as to whether she deserved to be listed among the distinguished past scholars.
Fierceton had a privileged upbringing according to the tip-off. According to an investigative report by Tom Bartlett of The Chronicle of Higher Education, Fierceton used to go by the name of Mackenzie Morrison and lived in an affluent suburb in St Louis, Missouri.
The Chronicle reported that her mother was a college-educated radiologist.
Fierceton was described as being dishonest in the representation of her childhood by an email to the Rhodes Trust, which included pictures of her skydiving and riding a horse, The Chronicle said.
She had spent less than a year in foster care when she was 17 years old, and was found to have made a mistake in her application.
Fierceton was placed into foster care after accusing her mother of pushing her down the stairs. She spent time in the hospital after the incident. The charges against her mother were dropped due to lack of evidence.
Fierceton had created and shared false narratives about herself and used them to serve her interests as an application for competitive academic programs, according to the committee. Fierceton withdrew from her scholarship, but it was recommended that it be revoked.
University students are walking on a road.
Stock photo
The University of Pennsylvania concluded that Fiercton had lied about her background. The final outcome of the university's discipline process is why the degree is being held back.
Fierceton claims that she did not lie on her application and that the Rhodes Trust is targeting a survivor of abuse. She filed a lawsuit against her university and investigators, accusing them of victimizing her.
Fierceton is the victim of an injustice according to supporters at the University of Pennsylvania. The student was allowed to live in AnneNorton's house during the Pandemic.
She exaggerated her injuries, which is the worst thing you can say about her. Injuries that kept her in the hospital for a long time resulted in her being placed in foster care.
The idea that she has been dishonest about her experience of foster care or her economic status is not consistent with her character and is not in accord with the evidence, according to a letter written byNorton to Rhodes.
Fierceton could not be reached.
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