Stories of success are more common than many think, and this is proven by students that sat in the same classrooms, studied in the same study halls and participated in the same St. Thomas University events as many STU students do today.
Two STU alumni, and graduates in the last two years, will be at Oxford University this year. Ethan Nylen and Elize Dávila, names many may recognize, are both studying at Oriel College and Worcester College.
“[At Oxford], you just get to meet so many amazing people from around the world,” said Nylen. “Not only [are they] extremely ambitious and have clear goals for how they want to change the world, but they have a clear interest in other people here at Oxford and making the most of their time here.”
Nylen graduated from STU in 2023, where he honoured in great books and political science. Aside from studies, Nylen was involved in every aspect of the STU community, from working at the Writing Centre, running for the cross country team, to being a campus tour ambassador. Taking these “intellectual risks” is what shaped his experience.
“Sometimes these things take trying and I really feel like STU gave me that opportunity, both academically and extracurricularly, which was really cool,” Nylen said.
Aside from the freedom to participate in a plethora of activities and courses, Nylen said he is “indebted” to the professors that mentored him and forever changed his learning experience. In first year, Nylen recalled a moment with Great Books Professor Matt Dinan, where he expressed uncertainty of continuing after the Aquinas program.
“‘But of course, you take great books,’ I think he said. And I did.”
Another mentor Nylen mentioned made an impact on his STU experience was Great Books Professor Alan Hall. He fondly recalls, “the times he would sit in a chair and spin around talking about Hegel.”
It was his professors, specifically Dinan, who encouraged him to apply for the Rhodes scholarship — which he won.
Related: STU student Ethan Nylen awarded the Rhodes Scholarship
After a long, arduous interview process – which involved a six hour dinner with the interviewers and the other interviewees and then a solo interview – Nylen remembers taking the acceptance call while sitting on the floor of his partner’s parent’s house.
“It was really quite climactic in a lot of ways, where it felt like quite an intense short period of hard work with such incredible news at the end.”
Now, Nylen has experienced a full year in the United Kingdom, studying a Masters of Philosophy in Political Theory. Living in Oxford has definitely been a change from STU’s small community.
“It’s like a walled-in city filled with books and with people who are studying in little nooks,” he said. “It’s funny to be walking around the city and looking at buildings that are older than the whole country that you’re from.”
The college Nylen is attending, Oriel College, has been around since the 1300s and he said the traditions have been the most memorable moments for him. He remembered his welcoming to the Rhodes house, where everyone dressed in black tie and robes.
“If you ever seen Harry Potter, it kind of is very similar to that. You sit in big, grand halls that are candle lit,” he said. “These are moments where you realize it’s pretty different from where you grow up.”
For those wanting to be a part of these traditions, Nylen’s advice for the interview process is simple: be true to yourself and what you want for your future.
“I’d say, all in all, you don’t want to have to come here and pretend to be somebody else. That’d be really unpleasant.”
Another alumi to Oxford
Elize Dávila is another familiar face around campus. She played a part in many campus activities, including working with Black Box Productions and Black Box Labs, working as a student tech at IT Services, was an RA and was involved with STU’s international student association.
Dávila is a 2024 STU graduate who is starting her first year at Oxford in October doing a Masters in world literatures and English at Worcester College. As an English honours student with a concentration in creative writing and also completing a major in catholic studies, Dávila always had a passion for literature.
“It was a subject that I felt drawn to. And that’s when I realized that English was for me,” she said. “It’s not something I get bored of — it’s something that clicks.”
Her passion of English thrived at STU, where she highlighted professor Andrea Schutz as an impactful force who ‘cemented [her] love for English literature.’ She recounted going on a road trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan for a medieval studies conference with a few other students and Schutz at the wheel.
“I actually got to meet people that I cited in papers, which was wild,” she said. “[The trip] is one of the highlights of my STU time.”
Dávila credits the professors in the English department, especially Matte Robinson, for encouraging her to apply. She recounted a meeting with him where she went in without ever considering a ‘big-name school’ and left with dreams of the United Kingdom.
“That’s when I kind of took his advice and, like, absorbed it and was like, ‘what if I applied to Oxford?’”
Dávila started applying to Oxford in November of her fourth year. An acceptance email from the university eventually came at the end of February. For Dávila, receiving the acceptance brought along a wave of emotion, because she was not guaranteed to go — she still needed a scholarship offer to make sure she was financially secure.
“I was in shock,” she said. “I was very happy about it. But it wasn’t that kind of immediate, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going.’”
“It was super, super exciting and very happy, but also the overwhelming anxiety or worry about, how do we do this?”
But finally, the news came in June that she received the Dr. Peter Helps Scholarship. While waiting to hear back, Dávila had started planning to go to UNB instead. She recalled telling her mom on the phone the night before to ‘stop holding hope.’
Dávila flies out to Oxford on Sept. 22. She said she is most excited to visit the historic museums and buildings that Oxford has to offer.
“It was a huge excitement,” she said. “It was really a dream come true.”
