If you think your life is busy and hard to manage, try a day in the life of Ontario’s two newest Rhodes Scholars, Zinta Zommers and Thomas Ringer.
The two Trinity College students were recently awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships, which were established in 1903 and are granted to students based on academic distinction, citizenship and extracurricular activities. The award is named after Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902), the great British businessman, politician and opportunist who founded diamond mining corporation DeBeers, snatched almost one million square miles of southern Africa from its indigenous inhabitants to give to the British Empire, and helped spark the Boer War (1899-1902).
The scholarship funds graduate studies at Oxford University in the U.K. for two years, with an option for a third year.
Zommers is a double-major in biology and environmental studies. She works three jobs, is a member of the Varsity figure skating team, and has volunteered for various organizations, such as the Canadian Great Ape Alliance and World Literacy of Canada—all in addition to being a full time student.
“I like to keep busy,” said Zommers.
Ringer is a double major in English and ethics and law and society. He works for the Princeton Review teaching fellow students how to improve their scores on the Legal Scholastic Aptitude Test (LSAT), is a published author and poet, a triathlete, and runs his own tutoring service. He would also like to set up a scholarship for students from single parent families. Ringer’s father died shortly before he started at U of T and paying for tuition was a challenge for him and his family.
“People describe me as a busy person,” said Ringer. “It just seems to come naturally for me, whenever I see something interesting I want to get involved. It happens organically. I just see something I want to do and I fit it in somehow.”
Ringer was encouraged to apply for the scholarship by his godparents and other people who had applied.
“I never really thought I had a shot at it,” Ringer said. “The main way I looked at it was it was an opportunity for me to crystallize my thoughts about what I wanted to do.”
The dean at Trinity College recommended that Zommers apply for the award. “But of course, I applied to about 20 other different schools,” she said.
Zommers plans to take development studies at Oxford, specializing in how conserving Africa’s great apes can benefit people. After completing her master’s, she hopes to return to Canada to pursue a PhD. in conservation biology.
“You can’t address conservation effectively unless you have an understanding of human needs. At Oxford, by doing the development studies program, hopefully, I can get an understanding of human needs. I’ve also considered law, though, because that’s another route: to address conservation through legislation.”
Ringer will study comparative social policy and plans to obtain a law degree upon his return home.
“The area that I really want to study is the intersection of race, gender and the law,” said Ringer. “What I’m really interested in is how culture and race interact with the law. I think that’s an area that has become increasingly important…Canada’s multiculturalism is lot more fragile than we realize.”
Both students attribute part of their success to their respective educations at U of T.
“I think that certainly U of T has helped an incredible amount,” said Zommers. “I’ve had a lot of people really help me…both academically and morally.”
“I definitely want to emphasize how fantastic the profs are here,” Ringer said. “That’s the one thing at U of T that I have unqualified praise for… I think it’s a world-class institution. A lot of people find that U of T can be a little bit daunting because it’s such a huge institution. Getting involved in Varsity sports made a huge difference for me…They don’t force a social life on you and they don’t force intellectual enlightenment on you. You have to find it for yourself. That’s what enlightenment’s all about.”
Despite all the praise and attention they have received, Zommers and Ringer remain down to earth and humble.
“I’m still the same person that I am, and I’m very thankful that I received this award, but at the same time I’m going to go about my business,” said Zommers.
“Don’t let the name intimidate you,” said Ringer. “I can’t let it go to my head. I really have to remember there were times in my life when I’ve really had to struggle, and there are people who had to struggle a lot more than I have to, and I have to keep those people in mind.”
“I wish there were more to give to other people because there were a lot of other people who really deserved it,” said Zommers.
Photograh by Simon Turnbull
