York undergraduate wins University of Lausanne prize

Posted on 14 August 2012

Jon Wilcox, a third-year undergraduate in the Department of English and Related Literature, has been awarded a prestigious prize from the University of Lausanne in recognition of his exceptional results as a visiting student.

Jon Wilcox in front of the Chateau de Chillon, Montreux

Jon will receive his prize at a ceremony in Lausanne, attended by Faculty and University staff, alongside representatives of the Canton parliament, students and their family and friends. Although Jon was originally supposed to spend a single semester studying in Lausanne, he was so taken with the Swiss University and its courses that he applied to extend his stay for the whole of the academic year. Whilst in Switzerland, Jon has studied a range of texts and modules, and has developed a particular interest in the work of Joseph Conrad.

As he returns from the shores of Lake Geneva to York's own campus lakeside, Jon looks forward to drawing on the language skills he has developed during his time abroad, as part of the Department's innovative commitment to encouraging students to study a foreign literature alongside their English literary studies. He also plans to develop and extend his passion for Conrad as part of his final-year dissertation.

Jon's supervisor, Dr Helen Smith, said 'Jon is an exceptional student, and it is wonderful to see that he has made so much of the opportunity to study abroad. His prize is richly deserved, and is a testament to his hard work and ambition'.