Quick, answer the following: “What political vision would you offer to improve our living standards and ensure a secure and prosperous global community?”
In August, three U of T students earned $10,000 and a four-month Internship with Canadian auto-parts giant Magna International for answering just this question. Ashleigh Androsoff, Sean Keating and Juda Strawczynski were selected from hundreds of contestants as three of ten finalists in the “As Prime Minister” contest sponsored by the company.
In their 2500 word essays, students were required to describe their creative solutions to the question. Once their essay was selected into the pool of fifty semi-finalists, students were required to present their strategic plans to an adjudicating panel that included political commentator Mike Duffy, journalist Mike Harris, and Jean Charpentier, former press secretary to Pierre Trudeau. Here, Androsoff, Keating and Strawczynski were judged on the content of their essays as well as their ability to verbally communicate their vision.
The contest is open to full time graduate, undergraduate and college students and is designed to allow young people to “express their views and provide them with a forum to exchange ideas…[for the] betterment of our nation,” said George Marsland, executive director for the scholarship program. “Ashleigh, Sean and Juda impressed the judges with their astute observations and compelling solutions.”
Androsoff is in her final year of a PhD program in history and is involved at U of T in the History department and volunteers at a centre for toddlers with special needs. Keating is a law student who has written for the U of T Law Review, and was a semi-finalist in the “As Prime Minister” contest in 2000. Strawczynski is also from the faculty of law: this year he was a volunteer with the Downtown Legal Services Agency, the faculty’s newspaper Ultra Vires, and was the associate editor of the law Journal.
Student finalists enjoy perks like attending special functions with senior government members, a private luncheon with the Speaker of the House of Commons, tours of the Senate, and observing Question Period. In addition to the prize money and internship-which is valued at $15,000-the student essays will be published in a compilation entitled “@Stake, As Prime Minister I would…” The publication will then be distributed to parliamentary MPs as well as other leaders in government, business, arts, science, and academia.
The 10 finalists will later travel to Parliament Hill where they will present their essays to the government and Prime Minister Paul Martin.
This year’s winner will be announced at a Gala dinner to be held in Ottawa in November. The Winner will receive an additional $10,000 and the offer of a one-year paid internship with Magna International, valued at $50,000.
Two other U of T students, Ben Barry and Theresa Pazionis, were among seven students given special recognition for their “innovative visions, personal community achievements, passion for excellence and commitment to the country.”
They were awarded with $500 and a certificate of achievement, but did not advance to the finals.
Androsoff, Keating and Strawczynski join the ranks of numerous other U of T students who also became finalists in past years. U of T students were named National winners of the contest in 2000 and 2002 and in 2003, two U of T students shared the title.
