These Saints Had the Write Stuff

Two Canterbury students were London-bound this fall after submitting their work for the John Locke Institute 2024 Global Essay Prize award ceremony. The essays by David Kim ’25 (right) and Junzhe “Michael” Zhao ’25 (left) were chosen from about 40,000 entries to be among the 16 percent shortlisted for the trip to England. 

Even better, both essays—David’s in the Theology category and Michael’s in Economics—were included in the top five percent that received High Commendation Awards! That would be a notable accomplishment for one of our Saints, but to have two Canterbury students achieve such an honor is extraordinary.

As proud as they were to be recognized, David and Michael were just as thrilled with the overall experience. Nearly 2,000 attendees attended the gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

“When we got to our table, the seating was done randomly, so we had people from around the world sitting with us,” David said. “There were students from Brazil, from Puerto Rico. We all talked about how our schools were different and shared our experiences. It was an honor to be there.”

David’s essay responded to the query, “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”? He explored the distinction between religion and spirituality and explained how being spiritual offers unique ways of pursuing faith.

In Michael’s essay, he was tasked with answering an entirely different question: Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither? Using charts and examples, he concluded that successful business people significantly contribute to the greater good of society through making and spending money and can be “a potent catalyst for social progress when they succeed.” 

Both student essayists were quick to credit faculty mentors for their support throughout the process—History and Social Sciences Department Chair Dr. Pádraig “Podge” Lawlor for David and History Teacher and Canterbury Business Association (CBA) Faculty Advisor Edward Smith for Michael, who is a CBA member.

“I plan to pursue business and economics in the future,” Michael said. “I am studying macroeconomics this year and have been doing business-related work my entire high school career.”

This experience is sure to benefit both Michael and David in their future endeavors. According to its website, the John Locke Institute is “an independent educational organization that works to embolden the best and brightest students to become more academically ambitious and intellectually adventurous.” All of its essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics from leading universities, including Oxford and Princeton. 

Congratulations, David and Michael—and thank you for being outstanding representatives for Canterbury on the global stage!