That's what the Rhodes and Fulbright scholar has next on her plate.

"The true meaning of the scholarship is not just the prestige, but what you do with it," said the Troy native, 23. "If I don't feel substantially able to achieve my goal of helping to eliminate human suffering in poverty-stricken areas, then it's not that great after all."Junior had a medical school interview at Harvard on Monday and then she said she's headed back to the South African clinic where she works with patients who have HIV and tuberculosis.

She was named a Rhodes scholar Saturday and earned a Fulbright scholarship for her work in South Africa this spring. She's one of 32 U.S. recipients out of 1,600 applicants to be selected for the Rhodes scholarship. She will receive about $19,000 a year for two years, starting in the fall, Junior said. The scholarship will pay for degree studies at the University of Oxford.

District officials said she is the first Troy student they know of to receive the Rhodes honor.

Junior, who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard with an undergraduate degree in sociology in June, does not know what medical field she will specialize in.

"I don't have a clue on how to alleviate poverty, but I hope to learn more about how to do it in the two years with the Rhodes scholarship," she said Monday.

As a student at Troy High School, Junior volunteered at a food banks and homeless shelters. At Harvard, her volunteer efforts continued.

Her mother, Jennifer Junior, proudly recalled some of her daughter's missions.

"She went down to the Gulf Coast after Katrina, with a group of students from Harvard, and helped people most in need," she said. "She even tried her hand at roofing, and actually was quite good."

While in high school, she also was a cheerleader, acted in plays, played clarinet and lettered in lacrosse. Her teachers remembered her humility.

"There are a lot of students who have the intellect, but she was very down to earth," said Rick Bodick, theater director at Troy High School. "She was (sharp) as a tack but she also was a team player, ready to pitch in wherever needed."

High school counselor Anne Young said Junior was, "an amazing, amazing good kid." She hesitates a moment and adds, "Almost too good to be true. She was humble, not your fashion plate, not cocky, but self confident."

Much of that can be attributed to the way she was raised.

Her mom said she didn't do anything special. In fact, she said she wasn't even much of a disciplinarian for Junior and her older sister, Joy, 24.

"They never had curfews, and the only rule of the house was no television or distractions on school nights unless they were school-related affairs," she said. "But I read to them a lot, from the time they were infants. I tried to pay attention to what she was interested in and helped her cultivate whatever that might be."