2025 Peter and Patricia Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize: Congratulations to Vivian Zhi

Fourth-year English undergraduate student Vivian Zhi has been named a winner of the 2025 Peter and Patricia Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize. This award promotes excellence in undergraduate research supported by the U of T Libraries. Vivian received the Prize for her project “Counter-Archiving UC and Back Campus’ Black Walnut Trees,” which she completed in Professor Andrea Most’s fourth year seminar course ENG482H1: Ecocriticism. The course familiarizes students with ecocritical theory and encourages them to develop a close relationship with a piece of land on the St. George campus. At the May 23 award ceremony, Professor Most called Vivian’s work—which involved archival research into black walnut trees on campus and into the life of Beverly Bennett, who donated the trees to the university—“one of the most creative and impressively researched final projects” that Professor Most had seen in all her years teaching the course. Congratulations, Vivian!