Four FAS students honoured at Global Undergraduate Awards

Four Faculty of Arts and Science undergraduates have earned Highly Commended honours at this year’s Global Undergraduate Awards. This year 292 institutions from 45 countries participated in the Undergraduate Awards Global Summit the world’s leading academic awards program which recognizes top undergraduate work and shares this work with a global audience.

Entrants whose paper or project ranked in the top 10 per cent of submissions in their category are named Highly Commended Entrants.

“In the Faculty of Arts and Science, we continue to be amazed by the dedication, adaptability, and enthusiasm of our students, especially those like our four Highly Commended Entrants this year who went above and beyond to achieve such an honour,” says Dean Barbara Crow. “We are delighted that they have been recognized by The Global Undergraduate Awards this year for their outstanding work and accomplishments.”

Earning the honours from FAS were:

Catherine Despatie, Social Science - Social Media in Rio de Janeiro's Favelas: Coletivo Papo Reto, Media Infrastructure and the Right to the City.

Michaela Cardo, History, Highly Recognized for two submissions - Fatal Fashion: Arsenical Greens and Victorian Women and Threads of Empire: Britain, India, and the Kashmiri Shawl.

Rachel Thibeault, History - From Modern Women to Non-Women: Transitional Parallels Between Chinese Femininity and Chinese Politics During the Mid-Twentieth Century.

Erin Vandenberg, Literature - ‘The Effect is Spoiled if You Sip': The Benefits and Hindrances of Performative Dining in ‘Babs the Impossible’ and ‘Aristology: Or, the Art of Dining’.

FAS supported the winners’ participation in the Undergraduate Awards Global Summit, a unique three-day event during which the top performing students and recent graduates from across the world joined together virtually for networking events, guest presenters, and presentations of peers’ undergraduate research.

“I felt like the award was validation that I had worked hard throughout my undergrad and that the quality of my work was being recognized, both at Queen’s and globally,” says Despatie. “When I think back to how far I’ve come academically since starting at Queen’s as a first-year student, I am blown away by how much my writing, and my academic skills in general, have evolved. I’m very proud of my accomplishments and I owe much of my success to the incredible support that was given to me by the Global Development Studies Department at Queen’s.”

The Undergraduate Awards competition for next year (2022) is now open and undergraduate students are welcome to submit their “A” grade third- and fourth-year papers for the chance at global recognition. Winners who attend the conference will be supported by FAS.

Learn more about the competition on the Global Undergraduate Awards on the website.