Colorado Rhodes Scholar to study mass migrations

DENVER (AP) -- A former Colorado high school student is headed to the University of Oxford after winning a Rhodes Scholarship to study mass migrations caused by world turmoil.

Hannah Carrese worked with refugees from Bhutan while she was in high school, and then went to Mexico to work with refugees fleeing violence in Central America.

Carrese says the current definition of a refugee is outdated in the 21st century because international agreements apply to individuals fleeing violence or persecution, and not mass migrations from places like Syria, Honduras, El Salvador and North Africa.

At Oxford, she plans to look for ways to provide aid so people won't have to flee their homes and new policies for countries to deal with mass influxes of refugees when other solutions are not available.