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Sophomore’s Essay Earns High Marks at Oxford
Minha Oh ’25 traveled to Oxford to accept a High Commendation award for her entry to the 2022 John Locke Institute Essay Competition on Saturday, October 1.
Senior academics from the University of Oxford annually judge essays submitted by high school and middle school students from around the world. This year, over 20,000 students entered the competition.
Minha entered the Psychology Essay category, which asked students to respond to one of four prompts. “Are we getting nastier?” was the question Minha decided to tackle.
“Physical violence is declining but due to online platforms functions like invisibility and anonymity cause less inhibitions and more nastiness online. It may not seem like a big deal but, for example, victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to commit suicide,” Minha said.
Between 16 and 30 students are tapped for commendations in each category which also include Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.
The recognition by Oxford faculty is particularly heartening because Minha learned English as her second language. Minha was born in the Republic of Korea and moved to the United States with her family a few years ago. She started learning English at two years old but did not attend an English-based international school.
As a big fan of the “Harry Potter” series, Minha said she has fantasized about attending Hogwarts since she was a little girl. The Christ Church Great Hall, which inspired for filmmakers’ depiction of Hogwarts’ dining hall, was the venue for the John Locke Institute’s essay awards ceremony.
“For me, it was more than just an awards ceremony,” Minha said. “I was very happy to get the opportunity."
Senior academics from the University of Oxford annually judge essays submitted by high school and middle school students from around the world. This year, over 20,000 students entered the competition.
Minha entered the Psychology Essay category, which asked students to respond to one of four prompts. “Are we getting nastier?” was the question Minha decided to tackle.
“Physical violence is declining but due to online platforms functions like invisibility and anonymity cause less inhibitions and more nastiness online. It may not seem like a big deal but, for example, victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to commit suicide,” Minha said.
Between 16 and 30 students are tapped for commendations in each category which also include Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.
The recognition by Oxford faculty is particularly heartening because Minha learned English as her second language. Minha was born in the Republic of Korea and moved to the United States with her family a few years ago. She started learning English at two years old but did not attend an English-based international school.
“In the short time that I’ve known Minha, I’ve found her to be incredibly introspective and thoughtful. Therefore, it seems quite fitting that she has excelled in an essay competition for an institute developed to honor the beliefs of John Locke," Sage Hill English teacher Jennifer Scott said.
As a big fan of the “Harry Potter” series, Minha said she has fantasized about attending Hogwarts since she was a little girl. The Christ Church Great Hall, which inspired for filmmakers’ depiction of Hogwarts’ dining hall, was the venue for the John Locke Institute’s essay awards ceremony.
“For me, it was more than just an awards ceremony,” Minha said. “I was very happy to get the opportunity."
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.