In the Iowa State University Genetics and Genomics program, Master’s student Majd Abdulghani worked on understanding certain aspects of placental development related to disorders like preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction. Since receiving her Master's degree, Majd has begun work on RNA at the University of Michigan. While a student at ISU, Majd applied for the Rhodes Scholarship, a prestigious scholarship for individuals who are eager to enact, and show enormous potential to affect, positive change in the world. Rhodes scholars receive a fully funded education at Oxford University for two to three years in the field of their choosing. Majd completed her Rhodes Scholarship application with the help and encouragement of the ISU Honor's program, namely Laura Good and Dr. Svitlana Zbarska, and the Center for Communication Excellence (CCE), especially writing consultant Mitch. Majd remarks:

I barely dared to dream of even making it to the finalist stage, but here we are! Without Mitch's help, I doubt that I would have reached this stage as smoothly as I did. Mitch is a superb person to work with: easy to talk to, encouraging, and has a really good grasp of what scholarships like the Rhodes are asking for. Beyond helping me make my writing and my application stand out, he helped me better understand and articulate myself and my goals. These things have not only been beneficial for scholarship applications, but benefited my professional skills in general. Thank you to everyone in the CCE! You guys are awesome!