SCIO is delighted to announce the Michaelmas Term 2025 Prize winners. The prizes are awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence in their research essays, British Culture seminars, or overall academic performance throughout the term.
Michaelmas’s awardees include:
Alumni Prize
- Rebekah Fuellbrandt
Academic Prizes
- Emma Rose Thrasher
- Hanna Fritz
- Mariah Sray
- Miriam Griffin
Read on to learn more about the prize winners’ time in Oxford and the impact of their studies with SCIO!
- Rebekah Fuellbrandt (The King’s University, AB)
“During my time at Oxford I studied political theory, historical theories of the state, art history and criticism, and researched 18th century advocacy for the commons. I was especially shaped by thinking about how people can best live together and organize themselves and their resources, a topic that only becomes more relevant. This semester contained some of the hardest academic work I’ve ever done, and it stretched me to read, think, and write more than ever before. But I also found for perhaps the first time in my life an intellectual community, in both the city of Oxford and my SCIO cohort. I spent my days studying at the Social Sciences library, interspersed with tea times and walks, followed by evenings of food and riotous conversations with friends. My SCIO experience was thus deeply satisfying and formative as I expanded my intellectual horizons and was forced to question many of my biases, supported by the camaraderie of others who were doing the same.”
- Emma Rose Thrasher (Covenant College, GA)
“I spent my SCIO term studying the works of Tolkien and the Romantic poets. Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings wrote at a very particular time, influenced by a very particular tradition. As a Christian fantasy writer, I am interested in the way Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work.” I’m also interested in the way he participated in the Romantic tradition while still differing from it. In my research project, I defined Romanticism as a motif of anti-modernism that recurs throughout history. Therefore, Tolkien and Lewis were Romantics because they believed modernism was antithetical to Christianity. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to study authors I love, and I hope to apply the lessons I learned to my own fiction.”
- Hanna Fritz (Taylor University, IN)
“Studying abroad with SCIO was undoubtedly one of the greatest experiences of my life. During my Michaelmas term in Oxford, I had the opportunity to study creative writing and C.S. Lewis in context, which integrated well with my research project in faerie as longing in the works of Andrew Peterson. I am deeply grateful to SCIO not only for teaching me to grow as an academic, but in enabling me to learn how to love people, listen well, and live as an articulate follower of Christ. I will cherish my lessons, memories, and friendships from my time in Oxford for the rest of my life.”
- Mariah Sray (Wheaton College, IL)
“While in Oxford, I studied the history of English choral music, sacred art, the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement, and the theology of the Holy Spirit in Piers Plowman. I loved sampling these disciplines, exploring the beauty and connectedness of art, literature, and music. I particularly enjoyed studying the history of English embroidery, sitting in Magdalen College Chapel to write about its art and architecture, and considering Evensong’s unique role today. I appreciated deep conversations about these niche topics with tutors who were curious and as willing to learn as they were to teach. Pusey House offered a welcome beyond what I could have wished, providing rhythms of worship, fellowship, and study that fostered my wellbeing and gained me many friends.”
- Miriam Griffin (Westmont College, CA)
“I do not think that I could ever adequately express the wonder that I felt each morning that I awoke in Oxford: knowing that I had a crisp autumn walk ahead, hours to spend in the library reading about psychology, a new cafe to try, and an intimate gathering with my church small group to enter into. As I climbed out of bed each morning, it felt like I was entering into a dream, instead of leaving one behind in sleep. Every part of this term felt like a gift–getting to learn from experts and given time to truly know them, the privilege of facing greater academic challenge and expectation than ever before, living with thoughtful, intelligent, Jesus-centered students, and adventuring throughout the most magical city in the world. It was incredible to be given the opportunity, encouragement, and resources to research something that I am deeply passionate about: global prison systems and the efficacy of different therapeutic intentions within them, and this may have been the empowering part of this term. This term has inspired me to seek faith and understanding in ways that stretch far beyond my comfort zone, and I hope to carry this desire with me throughout my life.”
SCIO wishes the prize winners a very happy and successful future!