Law graduate Kennedy Marley received the prestigious scholarship and is headed to the University of Oxford for graduate studies.

For the second year in a row, two fellow members of the USask community were among only 11 Canadians to receive the esteemed Rhodes Scholarship. Kennedy Marley, a USask Law graduate, and Colin Dyck, a fourth-year engineering physics student graduating in the Spring, will begin graduate studies at the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, in September 2025.

The Rhodes Scholarship, organized by the Rhodes Trust, is an international postgraduate scholarship awarded to exceptional individuals that provides recipients with the opportunity to complete a fully-funded postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford.

The Rhodes Trust awards a certain number of scholarships to each constituency (a country, group of countries, or territory) with only 11 scholarships awarded across Canada. 

“It’s quite literally life-changing news,” said Marley about receiving the call that she’d been selected. “It was an overwhelming moment.”

Marley, who works at the Court of Appeal for Saskatchewan in Regina, heard about the scholarship through a previous clerk. “[The previous clerk] had visited the court to catch up with

the judges and she swung by my office to introduce herself to my sister, Caydence, who is also

a law clerk, and I, and she pitched the idea of doing a Master’s program and asked if either of

us had considered it,” said Marley. While she explains that she had considered a Master’s degree before, she was unsure about many aspects of the process, including when and where she would complete it. 

Marley explained that “[The previous clerk] mentioned the Rhodes Scholarship, and I’d heard about it before but I hadn’t looked too far into it.” At first, Marley believed that the application process was very intense. “I still had a couple months before the deadline came up, and I [thought] ‘well, you know what? I think I could tackle this. Why not throw my hat in the ring and see what comes of this?’”

Marley has her Juris Doctor degree from the USask College of Law and is hoping to pursue Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Law, focusing on the comparison in criminal sentencing regimens between Canada and other nations, particularly about how they deal with Indigenous youth involved in gang culture.

“I started university in the sciences. I really was steadfast that I would be a doctor. Long story short, I simply wasn’t finding I was building relationships and meeting people with necessarily the same interests as myself in the sciences, so I swapped to the humanities in my second semester of university, and it immediately clicked that this is where I’m supposed to be. These are my people. These are the conversations I want to be included in and contributing to,” said Marley. “ I took one class specifically that solidified my love of the humanities. It was just the intro course of Women’s and Gender Studies, and at the time, it was taught by Dr. Josh Morrison. I’d never seen someone so enthusiastic about their area of interest (…) There was such lively conversation in every class, and I just thought, ‘I would like to be like him. I would like to be someone who was so excited about my work that it doesn’t feel like a job,’” she explained. 

After Marley applied to USask Law and was accepted in 2021, she expressed that “it felt like the right place. I never questioned whether I was too young or whether this was too big a task to take on.” 

Undoubtedly, Marley has an extensive track record of experiences and accomplishments that earned her the well-deserved scholarship. But her passion and drive is what truly stands out. 

Even though a big component of being selected to receive the scholarship is academic excellence, Marley expressed that an equally important component is reflecting the Rhodes Qualities, which include truth, devotion to duty, and unselfishness. She explained that while her strong academic performance throughout her undergraduate career and law school definitely played a role in being selected as a finalist, she hopes that she was selected because of her passion for the area of research.

“A very big component of my application was focused on being very authentic and honest in my interests. I didn’t try to put any sort of filter on my application and I didn’t try to tailor it to anyone else’s interests except my own,” she explained.

In early 2024, Marley and her twin sister Caydence were awarded the Order of Gabriel Dumont Bronze Medal from the Gabriel Dumont Institute. “Receiving the Order of Gabriel Dumont Medal was not solely a reflection of my academic ability. It was a reflection of my contributions to the Métis community. And that was really meaningful to me, to know that other people were seeing my passion and my commitment to the community,” explained Marley, who recognized being nominated for this award as an achievement she is very proud of.

In addition to receiving the Bronze Medal, Marley expressed that what she’s most proud of is being true to her passions and interests.

“I would describe myself as someone who is very ambitious and resolute. I am confident that I know what my interests are and the type of career that I want to pursue. However, as a young Indigenous woman in a field heavily dominated by men and non-Indigenous people, I have felt a lot of pressure and have been a recipient of a lot of commentary that suggests I should try other things such as corporate or civil law,” she recounted. “ I’m really proud of myself for just being authentic and true to myself about what I want to pursue. The topics that I’m interested in researching are important to me and they’re important to my community.”

Marley will be starting her Master’s program in September 2025. She expressed that she’s mostly excited and thankful for the opportunity to study at Oxford — not because of how prestigious the scholarship is, but because of the learning opportunities that come with being able to continue her education, moving abroad, and meeting new people. Sharing her experience with her family and the Métis community, and using what she’ll learn to support and uplift her community, is among what Marley said she cherishes most about the opportunity.

“That’s the most meaningful part of the scholarship for me, not the labels that come with it or the line that it will add to my CV,” she said. 

The Sheaf team extends its congratulations to Marley on receiving this prestigious scholarship and wishes her all the best in her future studies at Oxford.