Convocation, a time for celebration and reflection

trevor.kenney — Fri, 23 May 2014 21:49:06 +0000

It was the night before a big exam, and Benjamin Young, then a second-year student at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, was burning the midnight oil, struggling to understand a concept that would be covered the next day. It was at that unlikely moment he looked up and saw the professor for the class walking down the hall.

“It was the middle of the night, but I flagged him down and asked him a question. Despite the time, he sat there with me for probably half-an-hour to 45 minutes to help me understand the subject,” recounts Young. “Because of his help, I did great on the test the next day.”

The scene easily ranks beside those in movies like Mr. Holland’s Opus and it will always stick out in Young’s mind. Even so, it was not something that surprised him. Young explains that while the example was memorable, it really was just a reflection of the entire five years he’s had at the U of L.

Ben Young reflects back on his ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ education and the supports he received along the way.

“It’s that level of dedication you find in professors at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. You’re not just a number; most professors make a conscious effort to learn all their students’ names,” he says. “All of the professors I’ve encountered go above and beyond teaching in the classroom. They’re willing to help in whatever aspects a student needs.”

That personal support has also extended to Young as a recipient of various financial awards. Money, he explains, that has enabled him to make the most of his education.

“Scholarships allowed me to focus on my studies and pursue other educational opportunities outside the classroom. If you’re working all the time, it limits what you can do in your undergrad, and you lose out on some of those experiences,” he says.

For Young, some of those opportunities have included six co-ops with companies such as with Western Economic Diversification and Enbridge. He’s researched alongside political science professors, even being credited for his contributions in a published paper, and received a travel award that allowed him to volunteer with Operation Groundswell in East Africa.

“Scholarships really do make a big difference in a student’s life; they gave me opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise had. Scholarships provide a structure that enable you to succeed.”

Young also credits the liberal arts education offered at the U of L as a key factor in his journey.

“The liberal arts requirements forced me to take classes I may never have otherwise taken, such as Great Books Across the Disciplines. Liberal education is a real benefit for undergrads, it gives you a breadth of information and knowledge, and makes you a more well-rounded individual,” says Young.

Young will proudly don a cap and gown at the 2014 Spring Convocation. While the ceremony will officially grant him his degree, it will also be a time to recognize the many people who walked alongside him.

“It will feel pretty good to cross the stage; it’s a real sense of accomplishment. It’s been a lot of work, but my whole undergrad has been a great experience for me,” he says. “The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community as a whole just provides so much support to students in various ways. I found that any time I needed anything, the community was there for me. I’m just really thankful to everyone who had a hand in that.”

To make a gift to SOS, or for more information, please visit: www.uleth.ca/giving. You may also sign up to make monthly gifts through payroll deduction at www.uleth.ca/bridge/sos. Your gift is tax deductible and you may give to any area on campus that is meaningful to you.

Alumnus Wensveen recognized by Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for master's thesis

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:11:57 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus Jonathan Wensveen (BA ’11) is being honoured by Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement after his graduate student’s thesis was deemed to be among the best submitted at the Ottawa, Ont. university this year.

His thesis, entitled Human Nature in Hobbes and Thucydides, challenges the notion argued by many political theory and international relations scholars that Hobbes’s interpretation of human nature is taken directly from Thucydides. Wensveen surmises that, although Hobbes and Thucydides share similar interpretations of human nature, there nevertheless remains a fundamental difference between how each thinker (one wholly modern and the other wholly ancient) understands the human condition – a difference that many scholars fail to recognize.

In reflecting on the award, Wensveen says he is passionate about the research topics he pursues and that being recognized in this manner is even more satisfying.

“I am honoured to have been awarded a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement. In my view, I’ve been awarded for doing what I love to do – reading and studying the great books – and it doesn’t get much better than that.”

U of L political science professor Dr. John von Heyking says Wensveen’s work is a valuable contribution to the field of political science.

“Jonathan Wensveen's thesis is an outstanding example of how one looks to great philosophical and political thinkers, in his case Thucydides and Thomas Hobbes, to illuminate contemporary political debate and issues,” says von Heyking. “His work helps us to look further and deeper into just what a "realistic" political program looks like, which makes us better able to be more practical in our political decision-making.”

Wensveen, a native of Lethbridge, is currently applying to a number of universities to pursue his doctoral studies.

UNews - political science

Convocation, a time for celebration and reflection

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Alumnus Wensveen recognized by Carleton ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ for master's thesis

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Alumnus Wensveen recognized by Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ for master's thesis