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Jessica Phillips: From University of Toronto to Oxford

December 1, 2015

Jessica Phillips: From University of Toronto to Oxford

Jessica Phillips, a 2011 SHSID graduate, has recently been awarded the Rhodes Scholarship, the world’s most prestigious scholarship given to foreign students in support of their postgraduate study at the University of Oxford. Jessica was also one of the three students who have received this scholarship at the University of Toronto (U of T), where she focused on wildlife biology studies. Jessica grew up in China before going to U of T. High School Principal Mr. Ma Feng of SHSID, also her former math teacher, shared with us his first impression of Jessica, “she astonished me when she came up on the stage and spoke Chinese with a strong Beijing accent ".Jessica has visited the Antarctic during her gap year after high school, as has been mentioned in the reference letter written by Mr. Ma, and doubtlessly, this has helped her to become one of the chosen three.

During her time at U of T she has conducted field studies on juvenile salmon foraging behavior in British Columbia (supported by a NSERC award) and on the viability of shorebirds in northern Manitoba; she also conducted several laboratory studies on the epidemiology of Daphnia and a meta-analysis on the sensitivity of parasites to temperature change. She plans to pursue graduate studies on understanding and reducing the effect of climate change on the viability of penguins and other species living in Antarctica. Jessica is an avid photographer who was a member of the U of T Mandarin Debate Club and is current president of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Club.

Reflecting on what makes Jessica such an outstanding student, Mr. Ma commented, “it is her curiosity, resilience, and trans-cultural experiences that make her stand out”, and “she’s such a wonderful cultural ambassador who has a very good grasp of the quintessence of both Chinese culture and Western culture”, and “as a favorable supplement to students’ talent and endeavor, SHSID aims to provide students with an international context resembling a microcosm of the global society. Students will benefit greatly from it”.

We congratulate Jessica on her successful enrollment into Oxford University with the Rhodes Scholarship.