ANN ARBOR, Mich.” Lyric Ingrid Chen, a 2006 University of Michigan graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics, has won a prestigious Marshall Scholarship to study comparative politics at Oxford University.

The California-born Chen, who was also a finalist in the Rhodes Scholarship competition, says she plans a three-pronged career combining academic research with legal aid practice and policy to help change the conditions impeding justice for the citizens of China. Following her year at Oxford, she plans to return to the United States to attend law school.

Her career goals were inspired by seeing a man in Tiananmen Square in Beijing being arrested for simply wanting to bring a grievance to the attention of the People’s Assembly. ” Watching the police march the man away, I grappled with the question: what can I do to help him and thousands of others who want to seek justice?” Chen is currently in China on a Fulbright Scholarship, learning about Chinese society and institutions and assisting individuals at legal aid centers in several cities.

” We’re very proud of Lyric. Her desire to help the Chinese people in such a direct way can be an inspiration to all of us,” said Lester Monts, U-M’s senior vice provost for academic affairs. ” That desire to serve is a hallmark of our student body and we’re pleased that the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission recognized that motivation in Lyric as well as her intellectual strengths.”