Fourth-Year Student Elizabeth Tuck Awarded Rhodes Scholarship to Attend Oxford   

Fourth-year student Elizabeth Tuck from Mount Pearl, NL, has been awarded a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to pursue post-graduate studies at the University of Oxford.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and one of the most prestigious international scholarships and provides recipients funding to study at Oxford. It is awarded annually to only 11 students across Canada.

“I was shocked,” she said about getting the phone call. “I yelled and paced back and forth, and then called everyone. It was a lot of feelings all at once. I was crying; my friends were crying. It was surreal. It still is.”

Tuck is completing a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Human Rights and majors in Political Science and Great Books. She plans to continue her research on how different social identities—particularly gender—affect policy during her studies at Oxford. Read more…

Dr. Amanda DiPaolo Receives AAU Distinguished Teaching Award  

Human Rights Professor Dr. Amanda DiPaolo has been awarded the Association of Atlantic Universities Distinguished Teaching Award – an honour which recognizes outstanding teaching over a number of years.

DiPaolo is the fifth STU professor to receive this prestigious award from the association, which represents the 16 universities in Atlantic Canada.

DiPaolo says STU is an ideal environment to encourage teaching excellence.

“The culture at STU is one where students can feel like they matter,” she said. “When I was a student at St. Thomas University, I always felt like I mattered to my professors because they put so much effort into providing me with a quality education. That is now what I am trying to do for our students today.” Read more…

Emily Williams to Attend Prestigious Human Rights Course in Switzerland  

Emily Williams, a class of 2019 graduate, has been accepted into the Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation program at the University of Lucerne in Switzerland.

The three-week program is normally reserved for law students and lawyers. Williams credits her acceptance in part to the education and opportunities she received while at St Thomas.

“The valuable experiential learning that I was able to engage in while at STU helped my application stand out and I believe played a key role in why I was accepted,” Williams said.

The program focuses on the domestic implementation of human rights law. During her program in Switzerland, Williams will continue her experiential learning with day trips to Geneva to see the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as the Human Rights Council and the European Court of Human Rights in France. Read more…

Ready for the Next Challenge: Emma Walsh accepts offer from McGill Law School 

Emma Walsh is one step closer to making the move from Moot Court to the courtroom.

After receiving offers from multiple law schools—including the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa, and York University—the Oakland, Maine, native accepted her offer from McGill and will begin her law degree in the fall.

“It was my experience at STU that made me want to go to McGill,” Walsh said.

“McGill is one of the smallest law faculties I applied to and they’re focused more on how you think. It’s going to be bringing in theoretical perspectives as well as the things I’ve learned to love doing through the study of Political Science and Human Rights.” Read more…

STU Moot Court Students Kelly Brennan and Brianna Workman Win Osgoode Cup

Kelly Brennan and Brianna Workman have been crowned national undergraduate moot court champions.

The pair won the Osgoode Cup—an annual competition for undergraduate students held at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto—after facing teams from the University of Toronto, York University, Carleton University, and Humber-Guelph.

“We had a lot of judges asking ‘who this New Brunswick team is,’ but they aren’t asking anymore,” Brennan said.

“We had the chance to show the rest of Canada how St. Thomas moots and how incredible our team and program really is. It really was a huge privilege,” Workman added. Read more…

Students Channel Passion for Global Issues at Harvard National Model United Nations

Student delegates from around the world had one thing in common at the recent Harvard National Model United Nations in Boston—a passion to use what they’re learning to affect global change.

Students from STU’s Model United Nations course spent the conference representing the interests of Venezuela.

“This experience has allowed me to see the world with open eyes,” fourth-year student Emilie Hanlon said. “I was able to make connections with people from all over the world, and some of my closest allies throughout the conference were from Venezuela. We were able to have real and deep conversations about the crisis going on there.” Read more…

STU Moot Court Sets New Program Record at National Championship

St. Thomas University Moot Court set a new program benchmark at the 2019 American Moot Court Association National Championship in Orlando, Florida.

Two STU teams finished in the top 10—Emma Walsh and Brianna Workman placed fifth and Jarrod Ryan and Husoni Raymond placed ninth—three teams earned brief writing awards, and two STU Mooters were recognized as top oralists.

Walsh and Workman’s fifth place finish is the highest ever achieved by a STU team. Read more…

Lodhi Panel Discussion: Recent Human Rights Developments in Canadian Legislation

Senator McPhedran, Senator Dyck, and Senator Pate will make up the Lodhi panel which will discuss recent human rights developments in Canadian legislation, Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 pm in the Kinsella Auditorium.

Each senator will speak about a particular human rights development before the floor is opened for questions. Read more…