Abdul El-Sayed’s Oxford years: PhD, political awakening and sporting distinction

Abdul El-Sayed, now Michigan’s senator-elect, studied at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar after being praised as an outstanding student at the University of Michigan. Former university peers recall his drive, humour and leadership as captain of Oxford’s lacrosse team, while his experiences in Britain helped shape his political outlook.

His Oxford years included an early struggle with his course and a brief return to Michigan, but he later wrote that his classmates taught him more than any classroom could. He admired aspects of British democracy, including a 2010 Tower Hamlets hustings where all candidates were Bengali, and was known locally for a coronation chicken ciabatta nicknamed “the Abdul”. He completed a medical PhD and thanked the café owner who made the sandwich in his thesis.