Stephanie Galdamez wasn't able to attend this year's awards assembly for the Faculty
of Humanities because of the very award she was recognized with.

Currently studying abroad, Galdamez has already put the linguistics and languages
travel scholarship she was given earlier this year to good use, having decided to
continue her French studies in Grenoble, France.

Galdamez is just one of the many students in humanities who were honoured by the
Faculty at a celebration held Friday.

Awards were handed out for community contributions and academic achievement
alongside travel scholarships, research awards and essay prizes. Students with a 9.5
grade point average on at least 30 units were also named to the Dean's Honour List.

“The assembly allows us to take a moment away from the frenetic pace of our daily
routine to mark a special moment in the lives our of award recipients,” said Dean
Suzanne Crosta. “Our greatest hope is that the student experience will lead to a life-
long love of learning combined with a willingness to engage meaningfully with the
world. The achievements of the young people we recognized at the assembly give us
great confidence that this hope will be realized.”

Catherine Zagar, an English and cultural studies student, was also honoured at the
assembly. Zagar was awarded the Philomathia Travel Scholarship last April and used
the funding to travel to northern England where she worked on the excavation of
Roman fortifications. She followed up her research with work at Stanford.

“It was a great experience, and it helped me most of all to network with people who are
doing the same research that I am.”

In her speech to the gathering of students, parents, friends and faculty, Alyssa Lai said
talked about the importance of trying to achieve a balance between academic and non-
academic work in order to have a well-rounded student experience.

“While it's not always possible to achieve a fine and clear balance, I hope my peers
realize that the very process and effort undertaken to reach such a balance ultimately
contributes to a positive learning experience at university.”

Crosta also offered some words of advice to the assembled humanities students.

“Continue to seek out challenges and embrace them. By so doing, you will be able to
push the boundaries of knowledge, understanding and creativity.”