Global Undergraduate Award recipients grateful for faculty support
October 1, 2024
Congratulations to the members of the King’s community whose papers received Highly Commended recognition as part of the 2024 Global Undergraduate Awards.
Megan Hathaway Scrivens HBA ’24 (Social Justice & Peace Studies and Politics & International Relations) and a Certificate in the Study of Law and Public Policy, was recognized in the Social Sciences: Sociology & Social Policy category for her paper, “Homeless Not Hopeless: An analysis of the Health and Homelessness Response (2023) and the Feasibility of a ‘Housing First’ model in London, Ontario.” Ian McKenzie, a fourth-year student in the King’s Scholar honours program, History honours specialization, was recognized in the History category for his paper, “Relations Told Through Ink: The Globe and Mail and Cuban-Canadian Relations 1959-79.”
The Global Undergraduate Awards is an international awards program that recognizes creativity, excellence, and innovative thinking within student coursework. Entrants whose paper or project ranked in the top 10% of submissions in their category are shortlisted as Highly Commended Entrants.
Scrivens’ paper attempts to determine the most effective policy to resolve the homelessness crisis in London by investigating policies and analyzing the City of London’s 2023 Health and Homelessness Response.
“We need to do better for our most marginalized community members and lead with empathy, and the first step is providing concrete research that proves we can adopt an effective model and solve homelessness,” Scrivens says.
Scrivens says the first course she took at King’s, while she was still in high school, was with Dr. Tom Malleson, Associate Professor of Social Justice & Peace Studies (SJPS), who inspired Scrivens with an in-depth introduction to socioeconomic injustices in Canada and beyond. Dr.. Malleson was Scrivens’ supervisor on this paper.
Dr. Allyson Larkin, Department Chair of SJPS, encouraged Scrivens to submit her work to the Global Undergraduate Awards. Scrivens says Dr. Larkin “has been very supportive in encouraging my further academic development.”
“If anything impacted my decision to write this paper, it was my knowledgeable, supportive, and inspiring professors who each have had an incredible impact on my learning and development, and have always encouraged me to pursue my passions,” says Scrivens. She thanks her professors in the Politics & International Relations and Social Justice & Peace Studies programs “for supporting my academic development, coaching, and mentoring me throughout my five years at King’s. They are all the largest credit to this university and have been immensely supportive no matter where I was in my journey.”
McKenzie’s paper examines the first twenty years of Canadian relations with communist Cuba, using archives of The Globe and Mail. The distinct approaches of three Prime Ministers, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, and Pierre Trudeau, are profiled to understand how their decisions were viewed and responded to at the time.
McKenzie hopes his paper will demonstrate the importance and value of examining newspapers. “Unlike journals or other primary documents, newspapers offer a uniquely intimate view of contemporary thought,” he says.
During his time at King’s, McKenzie says he has felt encouraged to explore his interests, leading him to discover passions he never knew he had. “Through my coursework and conversations with my professors I have been able to deepen my knowledge of history and I owe a lot to them for giving me the confidence to attempt a paper like this, and even more for encouraging my ambition to apply,” says McKenzie.
McKenzie’s professor, Dr. Mark Sholdice, Lecturer in History, was with him every step of the way. With help from Dr. Sholdice, McKenzie worked to choose and solidify his topic. He says that Dr. Sholdice provided consultation and feedback after McKenzie completed the first draft of his paper, which encouraged him to expand and broaden his research.
The Global Undergraduate Awards is an international awards program that recognizes creativity, excellence, and innovative thinking within student coursework. Entrants whose paper or project ranked in the top 10% of submissions in their category are shortlisted as Highly Commended Entrants.
This year, the Global Undergraduate Awards received 2271 submissions from 343 institutions from 100 countries. The full list of Highly Commended winners for 2024 can be viewed on their website.
Congratulations to Megan and Ian for receiving this honour. Both hope to travel to Dublin, Ireland to attend the Global Undergraduate Summit in November 2024.
Read about other recent Global Undergraduate Award winners from King’s: