Congratulations to SCIO’s summer 2018 de Jager prizewinners

SCIO is pleased to announce the Oxford Summer Programme 2018 de Jager prizewinners.

The de Jager prize is awarded in recognition of written work, submitted by each awardee during the Oxford Summer Programme, which is judged to be outstanding. Presented by SCIO at the close of each term, the award is facilitated by Geoffrey and Caroline de Jager, whose generous gift to each awardee reflects their enduring commitment to academic excellence.

The prizewinners for OSP 2018, along with their sending institutions, are named below.

The students reflect on their time with SCIO:

To study in Oxford is to be saturated by an enriching environment that exudes the magic of learning. The atmosphere offers limitless encouragement to those seeking the pursuit of knowledge just for knowledge’s sake. In fact, there is no need to justify the habit of reading and writing for seven to nine hours a day; instead these activities are entrenched in the previous works of enduring authors, such as Oscar Wilde, Albert Einstein, and C.S. Lewis. Therefore, by exploring the various colleges of Merton, where J.R.R. Tolkien taught, or Lady Margaret Hall, where Malala Yousafzi currently studies, one feels a sense of inspiration and achievement. These and countless others are the giants whose past inventions propel future ideas and provide inspiration.

Anneliese Hardman

What was my favorite part of the Oxford Summer Programme? Quite honestly, all of it. The adventure of living another culture as a student rather than as a tourist, the breathtaking weight of history exuding from every stone of Oxford’s awe-inspiring buildings, the reverent awe of worshipping in ancient cathedrals, the thrill of having access to the world-class Bodleian libraries, the empowering satisfaction of completing a daunting research paper, the exhilaration of discussing meaningful ideas with an expert scholar in my tutorials, and the simple joy of living, cooking, and drinking tea in a community of other serious students were each incredible in their own right, but together they made OSP a life-changing experience. Studying in Oxford has empowered me to investigate difficult questions of how to reconcile my faith with my scientific and scholarly pursuits and equipped me to face senior year and graduate school with confidence.

Rachel Roller

Coming to Oxford knowing I would return home in a month gave me a constant sense of urgency — a desire to use moments for maximum growth. I felt it most in preparation for my tutorials. Sitting in the stunning Bodleian Library only heightened my determination to construct a coherent argument I would later read and defend in front of a scholar. Each day, I carried ponderings on C. S. Lewis and Jane Austen back to the Vines where I sorted through ideas with classmates. We crafted our arguments late into the night, only to later realize their flaws, starting anew again. Despite my resolve to construct the perfect argument, by the end of a tutorial, I was always less certain of the validity of my conclusions than expected. Being in Oxford taught me to take ownership of my scholarship and to aim for growth above perfection.

Kate Vetter