SCIO is delighted to announce the Scholars’ Semester in Oxford de Jager prize winners for fall 2013. These students showed exceptional academic performance in the following aspects of the programme
| British landscape course | Integrative seminar | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelsey Chase | Seattle Pacific University | Sally Eaves | Wheaton College |
| Kyle Luck | Calvin College | Aly Inouye | Seattle Pacific University |
| Abby Stocker | Bethel University | Jenny Newman | George Fox University |
| Abby Swanson | Gordon College | Stephanie Redekop | Trinity Western University |
| Daniel Thweatt | Bethel University | Kristabel Stark | Westmont College |
Top row from left: Sally Eaves, Kyle Luck, Abby Stocker, Stephanie Redekop, Abby Swanson
Bottom row from left: Kelsey Chase, Aly Inouye, Kristabel Stark, Daniel Thweatt, Jenny Newman
SCIO students often find their time on the Scholars’ Semester in Oxford (SSO) both intellectually challenging and highly rewarding. Some of the prize-winners told us how they found their semester in Oxford.
Coming to Oxford helped me understand where my own discipline fits in the larger academic landscape. As a political scientist, I enjoyed living in a house with people studying literature and philosophy because it helped me develop a more nuanced perspective on my own studies. I loved sitting in desks at libraries where scholars have read for hundreds of years and feeling like I was participating in some still unwinding story.
Kristabel Stark
I’ve always been a student who loved learning and was curious about nearly everything; in Oxford I had to work harder at learning than I have at any other point in my schooling. However, the conversations and relationships with fellow students, tutors, and other scholars were worth the hard work. SCIO inspired me to live a more academic life, regardless of whether I pursue graduate education in the future.
Abby Stocker
Oxford’s tutorial system has helped me learn to better articulate my thoughts and to better argue for my opinions. My tutors listened to and engaged with my ideas … the genuineness of that conversation combined with their patience convinces me that it is worth it to continue to wrestle with whatever it is I am struggling to get across in my writing.
Aly Inouye
My time in Oxford was highly influential to both my academic and future career goals. Studying art history and criticism in such an intensive research semester was challenging and enlivening, helping to confirm my desire to pursue graduate work… The entire community of SCIO, the faculty, staff, and students were fantastic; a joy to labor and dialogue with late into the night.
Sally Eaves
Studying at Oxford connected me with some of the sharpest Christian undergraduates in the US, some of the best theologians working today, and some of the most caring people I’ve known. I suspect that my experience with SCIO will be truly invaluable for discerning my vocational calling and fearlessly navigating the academy as a follower of Jesus. What a tremendous gift!
Kyle Luck
The de Jager prizes are funded by a generous donation to SCIO from Geoffrey and Caroline de Jager who have a long standing commitment to encouraging excellence in education and scholarship.