/ Newsroom/ Steps to success

Steps to success

Tamma Carleton ’09 shares her path to the Rhodes Scholarship.

February 10, 2012

Tamma Carleton ’09

Coming from rural Elk, California, population 250, Tamma Carleton ’09 felt she should go to a big college. Lewis & Clark wasn’t even on her radar, but a recruitment letter promoting our cross country and track programs persuaded her to visit. “I had already checked out several large schools,” she says, “but as soon as I sat in on a class at Lewis & Clark, I knew: this is how I want to learn.”

Tamma enrolled at Lewis & Clark intending to study international affairs, but in her very first economics class, a second epiphany struck: “I suddenly realized, this is how I think,” she recalls. “Everything just clicked.”

Those pivotal moments were just the first steps on an exciting new journey. In 2011, while working as an economic analyst at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., Tamma learned that she had won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. With the award, she’s now working on a master’s degree in economics at Oxford University.

Learn more about Tamma and how her Lewis & Clark experience prepared her for academic and career success.

A High Note

Composer Oswald Huỳnh Named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow

Oswald Huỳnh BA ’19, whose music explores memory, heritage, language, and identity, has been named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow in music composition.

Global Research

City Life Makes Animals Bolder

A new global study led by L&C biologist Tracy Burkhard finds that city animals tend to be bolder, more aggressive, more exploratory, and more active than their rural counterparts.

Vision and Growth

Law School Strategic Plan Focuses on the Future, Student Success, and Community

“Excellence and resilience in a fast-changing world” is the focus of the Law School’s strategic plan, with efforts to future-proof the school and ensure students’ success.

Immersive Learning

Turning Local Concerns Into Environmental Research

L&C seniors partnered with Portland’s Albina residents to respond to their environmental priorities, collecting and evaluating data on air quality, traffic safety, and the potential use of mass timber.