Malala Yousafzaiw’s choice for university comes down to two: Oxford University and Stanford University.-
For the world's youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner and global advocate for girls' education, the choice of where to continue her studies comes down to either the world's oldest university in the English-speaking world or a university nestled in the Silicon Valley.
Both Oxford University and Stanford University belong to the top tier of global universities and would offer Malala Yousafzai a world-class undergraduate experience.
But the winner of who gets to host a global celebrity, and have its name tied to the 18-year-old who has held audiences with philanthropists, presidents and CEOs to promote an education movement, may end up being the one with the most sunshine to offer – and on that, California trumps Oxfordshire.
"They have 300 days of sun out of 365 days, which is a rare phenomenon in the U.K.," her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, told The Sunday Times, confirming that his daughter had toured the campus located between San Francisco and San Jose. "Three hundred days of sun makes a difference," he added.
Ms. Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize slightly more than a year ago for her work to make education accessible for girls around the world. This past August, her father tweeted her secondary school results – straight As in 10 subjects including math, science and English.
Ms. Yousafzai managed to keep up with her studies in Birmingham while frequently appearing on the world stage – whether it was speaking at the United Nations or accepting her Nobel in Oslo.
"It wouldn't look very good if the girl shot for wanting to go to school failed her GCSEs," she told The Australian last year, referring to the British secondary school exams. A new documentary, He Named Me Malala, traces her life after being taken to Britain for specialist medical treatment after being shot on a school bus in her native Pakistan.
This week, Ms. Yousafzai's mother, Toor Pekai, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight, appeared at a London education event alongside her husband. She shared with the audience that she was attending classes to learn to read and write, years after quitting school because she was the only girl in the Pakistani school classroom. She also said her daughter nags her about doing her homework.
Ms. Yousafzai has not made a final decision about what university she will attend. Oxford is not entirely out of the running. Ms. Yousafzai has said in the past that her hero is former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was slain in 2007. Ms. Bhutto graduated from Oxford University.