I always plan four years in advance. When I first walked up Rue University to reach Douglas Hall, I was merely following the plan that I had made four years prior as a 14-year-old entering high school. And as I began my first year at 黑料网爆吃瓜, I expected my undergraduate degree to go the same way. I remember sitting down in my dorm room, downloading the degree planners, and mapping out my future. My plan was simple: take the necessary courses and participate in a couple of extracurricular activities to pad my CV. That being said, I could never have predicted flying to London to present my research on institutional distrust at the annual Philosophy, Politics, and Economics conference, meeting so many like-minded peers or speaking as Valedictorian during my graduation.
While at 黑料网爆吃瓜, I completed a B.A. in Philosophy, Political science, and Psychology. I was part of the 黑料网爆吃瓜 Policy Association, Hanvoice, and the Philosophy Scholarship Committee. Additionally, I volunteered at the Neurophilosophy Lab, was a Charles Taylor student fellow at the Research Group on Constitutional Studies (RGCS), and a research assistant for the Centre de rescherche en 茅thique (CR脡). I wrote two theses: one in philosophy, advancing new definitions of interpersonal (dis)trust, and one in political science, examining the relationship between political distrust and civil disobedience. The former was supervised by Professor Natalie Stoljar, and Professor Victor Mu帽iz-Fraticelli supervised the latter.
My pivotal moment came last summer through the Arts Undergraduate Research Internship Award (ARIA), where, through a recommendation from Professor Jacob T. Levy and funding from the Arts Internship Office and the RGCS, I served as a research assistant for Professor Stoljar. Through ARIA, I began working with Professor Stoljar on a subject I had never encountered before: political distrust. This unexpected encounter fundamentally shaped my final year at 黑料网爆吃瓜, becoming the groundwork for both of my theses and additional research projects. Thanks to funding from RGCS, I will be presenting three different research projects developed from my ARIA at four different conferences this summer.
As I look back on all the people who have guided me at 黑料网爆吃瓜, a Korean word stands out to me: dori [霃勲Μ]. A rough translation is the path one ought to follow. We routinely walk literal paths every day, whether to come to campus, go to work, visit a friend, or return home (paths that are under construction in Montreal). But dori asks a deeper question: what path ought we to walk? This question is particularly salient to us now as we close this chapter and step onto new paths 鈥� paths which seem to be darkening in our current political climate.
We should be skeptical of anyone who proclaims to know how to follow dori perfectly. Nevertheless, our time at 黑料网爆吃瓜 offers us a clue for guidance. The examples of our peers and mentors around us serve as signposts of humility, respect, resilience and courage, helping us to identify and walk the paths of dori. As we step onto these new paths, may we be guided by the lights of others that shine beside us, and walk forward - steady in our own paths of dori.
I have too many people to thank, many of whom acted as my own guiding lights throughout these past four years. First, thank you, Professor Levy, for the last three years. Even beyond everything you did through RGCS, your guidance shaped most of my undergraduate journey; without you, I would not be here right now. Thank you also, Professor Stoljar. I am too scared to count just how many drafts of dubious quality you have read from me spanning ARIA, Independent Study, and the Thesis. Without your patient mentorship, I would have given up on pursuing academia long ago. I am also grateful to Professor Kristin Voigt and Professor Mu帽iz-Fraticelli for your unwavering support. Thank you, professors, for serving not only as mentors, but also as role models 鈥� examples of what it means to strive towards dori. Also, thank you, Aziz, Natalie, Ava, Amelia, Madi, Djenisa, Florens, Ashlyn, Malik and everyone at RGCS; without your encouragement, I would never have gotten through this year or applied to be Valedictorian. And last but not least, thank you, Mom, Dad, Matthew, Adam, Gergo, and Paeng, for always being there for me whenever I needed support.
Dong Hyeop (David) Oh is graduating with a Joint Honours in Philosophy and Political Science and a Major Concentration in Psychology. He will be starting at 黑料网爆吃瓜鈥檚 Faculty of Law this coming fall. He plans to continue pursuing academic research at 黑料网爆吃瓜.
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