![Anna Damosy '24]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1706060355/gunneryorg/h90c8tpfdptbvm9z8i8k/Damosy_Anna_6872860.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1706060355/gunneryorg/h90c8tpfdptbvm9z8i8k/Damosy_Anna_6872860.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1706060355/gunneryorg/h90c8tpfdptbvm9z8i8k/Damosy_Anna_6872860.jpg","width":640}])
Anna Dámosy ’24 had an exciting start to her senior year at The Frederick Gunn School. Shortly after arriving on campus for Orientation, she traveled to Oxford, England, where she received a commendation in the 2023 Global Essay Competition organized by the prestigious John Locke Institute. Dámosy received her award certificate at an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner held September 23, 2023, at the Sheldonian Theatre at the University of Oxford.
“I was, of course, surprised, but it was a huge delight for me. I know that there are only so many students who receive merit commendations, so I was really happy. I was also really grateful for the opportunity to attend the award ceremony in England,” she said.
The essay competition is open to students from any country. Submissions are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities, including Oxford and Princeton. The writers of the best essays receive a commendation and are shortlisted for one of the top three prizes awarded in seven subjects: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law.
Dámosy lives in Budapest, Hungary, and completed coursework at a school there remotely and concurrently with her studies at Gunn. She participated in graduation ceremonies in Hungary in December 2023, and said a teacher there inspired her to enter the Global Essay Competition. She wrote her essay last summer, choosing the theme of politics.
“I wrote about elections systems and their efficiency and I compared the Hungarian and U.S. systems,” said Damosy, who as a member of the Gunn Model United Nations co-curricular program also participated in the Yale Model United Nations Conference, January 18-21, 2024, at Yale University. “I have always been interested in politics and international relations. The last few years have entailed massive political turmoil in Hungary, which got me even more motivated to dive into the world of governments. In addition, I took Citizen Gunn and Public Speaking with Mr. McMann, with whom we discussed ideas of civic responsibility and the duty of government. Also, Mr. Gritti’s AP US. History course gave me foundational ideas of the U.S. government that I used in my essay.”
Essays are judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. “The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind,” the institute said.
“I’m interested in academic writing. Writing is a huge part of your education during college and university. We’ll see how that works out,” said Dámosy, who will graduate in May and plans to major in political science or international relations with a minor in economics in college. “Studying at Gunn really allowed me to reach a level of fluency in English to write a complex academic paper. In addition, I took AP Language and Composition last year, which was really focused on rhetorical methods, so I was able to construct my argument in a way that was convincing.”
