U of G Student Nabs Prestigious International Scholarship
April 11, 2014 - News Release
A University of Guelph student has won a prestigious scholarship to pursue graduate studies at the University of Cambridge. Samuel Mosonyi is one of 95 people worldwide named as a 2014 Gates Cambridge Scholar.
Competition for the awards is fierce, with more than 3,600 students from 27 countries vying this year. Fifty-five people were selected internationally and 40 from the United States.
"I am very honoured to receive one of the world’s most prestigious scholarships and will use this opportunity to engage in research that will create a positive impact on people’s lives,” said Mosonyi, a political science and criminal justice and public policy major.
At Cambridge, he will pursue an M.Phil. in criminology, the only 2014 Gates Scholar in that field. He will study how sentencing guidelines can create a fairer, more equitable justice system, and plans to return to Canada to attend law school.
“I’m passionate about increasing access to justice to ensure that all members of society can participate on an equal level.”
Mosonyi said his years at U of G “not only sparked my love for learning but provided a wealth of opportunities to become engaged on campus and in the local community."
He served as student senator, as chair of the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences Student Alliance and as vice-chair of U of G’s Judicial Committee. He co-organized the Waterloo Vote Mob, part of a non-partisan national movement encouraging youth to vote in elections. In 2012, he was chosen to speak for all Ontario university students in Queen’s Park about innovative teaching practices in the province’s universities.
“U of G helped me become a better citizen through its emphasis on community engagement,” he said. During a first-year seminar course on politics, science and the culture of hunger, “I learned how to become a more engaged world citizen.”
This spring, Mosonyi won the Brian D. Sullivan Student Leadership Award for his commitment to making processes and dialogues more accessible to students on campus. In 2013, he received the R.P. Gilmor Student Life Award recognizing commitment to improving the student experience and was named among Guelph’s “Top 40 Under 40.”
He also published in peer-reviewed and undergraduate journals, organized research forums, wrote dozens of columns and articles on politics and law for local and national newspapers, and worked as a research assistant with U of G professors.
“I have long believed in the importance of engaging with civil society and have endeavoured to be an active participant in the life of my university and community,” he said.
“This reflects, as well, my commitment to use the law in the service of righting social inequities. I believe passionately that both the legal and academic communities need to engage actively with society.”
For media questions, contact Communications and Public Affairs: Lori Bona Hunt, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53338, or lhunt@uoguelph.ca; or Kevin Gonsalves, Ext. 56982, or kgonsalves@uoguelph.ca.
