By Kate Maroney, University Communications, posted via unc.edu on November 21, 2021.

Justin Hadad, a 2021 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been selected for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, which funds study at the University of Oxford.

Hadad is the second Rhodes Scholar this year from UNC-Chapel Hill, joining senior Takhona Hlatshwako who received the scholarship in October. The Rhodes Trust is expected to announce more members of its Class of 2022 in the coming days.

Hadad majored in economics and applied physics and minored in Latin. At Carolina, he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, an Honors Carolina Laureate and an entrepreneur.

In Chapel Hill, Hadad created SplitTime, a scheduling software that merges machine learning and economic theory to help businesses manage employees’ shifts. He also co-founded UNCUT, a storytelling platform that highlights student-athletes’ lives off the field, to address their mental health.

He is now planning to take his problem-solving to the next level as a Rhodes Scholar. He hopes to help place refugees in environments where they will thrive by using economic resource allocation algorithms and pursuing a master’s degree in economics at Oxford University.

“This would be the next step that I need to serve people on a broader scope,” Hadad said. “I’m excited to take that next step because I’m confident I can be successful in that realm.”