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Alex Cunningham was one of 14 women from across Northern America selected to participate in the Summer Program for Women in Philosophy in San Diego. The event seeks to empower and prepare women—who are historically underrepresented in Philosophy—for graduate level studies in the field.

 

“My goal is to earn a Masters and PhD in Philosophy, and I believe this program will help me get accepted into graduate school and succeed once there,” Cunningham said. “It will be really beneficial to engage with a group of women in Philosophy in order to solidify my belief that we have a place in the field.”

 

Cunningham is pursuing a double Honours in Philosophy and Great Books—subjects she discovered through her experience in the Aquinas Program.

 

“Aquinas exposes its students to English Literature, Philosophy, and Political Science,” she said. “As someone who originally planned to get a degree in English, I thought that the Aquinas Program would be the perfect bridge to future study.”

 

“The program exceeded my expectations. I gained exposure to a wide variety of texts, and it inspired a great interest in philosophy. Entering into the Aquinas Program, I did not intend to do an Honours in Great Books, but here I am and I credit it to the strength of the Aquinas Program.”

 

Her acceptance into the summer program in San Diego wasn’t her only academic success this year. In May, one of Cunningham’s essays was published in the Compass Rose, a peer-reviewed undergraduate journal published by Vancouver Island University’s Liberal Studies program. Three of the other four essayists published were also students from the St. Thomas University’s Great Books Program.

 

Dr. Matthew Dinan of the Great Books program said the number of ������˾�� students published was no surprise.

 

“The students prepared their submissions for blind review, which means they removed their identification from the papers before they submitted them,” he said. “In this case, the editors decided that four of the five best papers they received were by ������˾�� students.

 

“Our students are superb, and our program provides them with significant opportunities to develop as thinkers and writers.”