The first thing Molly Nullmeyer (BA ’25) did when she heard she’d won a Governor General’s Silver Medal was call her loved ones.

“I’m the first university graduate in my family, so I felt like winning this award was a huge accomplishment not just for me, but also for my entire family,” she says.

One of Canada’s most prestigious honours, the medals recognize the two undergraduate students with the highest academic standing in a first honours degree.

Nullmeyer and fellow recipient Anthony Orlando Colosimo (BSc ’25) returned to campus to receive their awards during Brock’s 118th Convocation on Friday, Oct. 17.

Colosimo and Nullmeyer received the Dean’s Gold Medal from the Faculty of Mathematics and Science and Faculty of Social Sciences, respectively, during Spring Convocation in June.

For Nullmeyer, studying Psychology was an opportunity to learn about interesting topics while opening a broad field of career paths.

“I had diverse classes in neuroscience, biology, social psych and community psych,” she says. “Studying all those areas and volunteering both in the community and in research opportunities helped me find what I’m really interested in.”

Nullmeyer says her undergraduate thesis research on stigma and substance use, for which she received a David and Carolyn DiBattista Scholarship; her Undergraduate Student Research Award-funded work with Distinguished Professor Catherine Mondloch in Brock’s Face Perception Lab; and volunteering at Hospice Niagara have led her to next steps that will combine research passion with an interest in people’s lived experiences.

She is now working with supervisor Scott Neufeld on publishing her thesis research and preparing graduate school applications for Master of Social Work programs.

Looking back on her university experience, Nullmeyer advises students starting out to be curious, both in and outside of the classroom, and to find balance.

“Finding the balance between being really serious about school but also pursuing my hobbies and maintaining strong relationships outside of school kept me sane,” she says.

Receiving the Governor General’s Silver Medal caps a journey that saw Colosimo explore multiple career paths.

Colosimo, who comes from a family of Brock graduates, originally planned to become a dentist like his uncle when he began his studies in 2020. But partway through his degree, he discovered a deeper passion for technology.

“I enjoyed math and technology more than memorization-heavy medical sciences,” he says. “Once I made the switch to computer sciences in 2022, everything just clicked. I liked the logic, the challenge and how it pushed me to think differently.”

His undergraduate thesis research into artificial intelligence focused on natural language processing and developing methods for measuring effective prompts within cost and resource limits.

Colosimo credits supportive professors and resources such as the Computer Science Help Desk for his success.

“Professors go out of their way to help,” he says. “It wasn’t intimidating because I often knew the teaching assistants behind the help desk. I think this is the coolest resource many students don’t know about.”

Anthony Orlando Colosimo (BSc ’25), left, received the Governor General’s Silver Medal from Associate Vice-President, Academic Brian Power on Friday, Oct. 17 during Brock University’s 118th Convocation.