A prestigious national scholarship is helping St. Francis Xavier University graduate Vitoria Wortman pursue the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Wortman, who graduated from StFX in 2025 with an honours degree in political science and a subsidiary in economics, has been awarded a $20,750 Mackenzie King Travelling Scholarship, one of Canada's distinguished graduate scholarships. The scholarship is open to graduates of any Canadian university pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in the United States or the United Kingdom, focusing on international or industrial relations.
In addition, she has earned a merit scholarship from Georgetown University of just over U.S. $12,400 annually for each of her two years of study.
The award came at a pivotal moment.
"The King scholarship felt like an answered prayer," says Ms. Wortman of Upper Coverdale, NB. "I was very grateful that I would get this extra support."
To obtain her international student visa for the United States, Ms. Wortman was required to demonstrate sufficient financial resources, something student loans alone would not do.
Having completed her undergraduate degree in just three years while working part time to reduce costs, she says the scholarship also brings welcome financial relief and will allow her to devote more time to her education.
Ms. Wortman describes security studies as a field interested in how we keep a country secure and how, on the world stage, do countries keep themselves and their allies secure. She plans to specialize in terrorism and sub-state violence, with the long-term goal of working at a think tank, possibly in Washington, D.C., conducting research and advising policymakers on the Middle East and security.
Her interest grew both from personal experience and during her StFX honours research, where she worked with political science professor Dr. Jamie Levin completing a thesis on, “Which Wars Matter: How the American-Israeli Relationship Shaped Existential War in Israel.”
Originally intending to pursue international law as a career when she arrived at StFX, Ms. Wortman says her eyes opened to new possibilities and pathways after Dr. Levin sent her to present her research at the Canadian Undergraduate Security Conference. The event is attended by military personnel, leading scholars, master’s and undergraduate students.
For Ms. Wortman, her research also holds personal meaning.
“My story doesn’t start in Canada,” she says. “It starts in Israel. That’s where I was born.” Her family lived so close to the Gaza Strip, she says the area was considered “a human shield.” The family moved to Canada when she was seven. All her father’s extended family still live in Israel, while her mother’s family lives in Brazil.
As a second year StFX student in 2023, world events in Israel turned personal.
“After the Oct. 7th attack,” she says “we had seven family friends die. I knew I wanted to do something.
“It was big,” she recalls. “It made me start thinking more about these questions and it made me what to contribute somehow.”
Ms. Wortman says she wanted to do something positive, to bring an analytical framework into her studies. “What can be a path forward? How can I take this beyond my emotions?” she remembers thinking.
Along with the Mackenzie King Scholarship, her accomplishments earlier earned her the $6,000 Dr. John B. Stewart Scholarship in Political Science at StFX’s 2025 Spring Convocation. The award is presented to the most outstanding political science student, based on cumulative grade average as well as overall ability in and aptitude for the study of political science.
As she prepares to start at Georgetown, an internationally renowned university, she says these awards help with imposter syndrome. “Do I fit? Am I good enough?’ are questions she admits she asks herself. The awards “feel like a nice vote of confidence.”
Alongside her academic achievements, Ms. Wortman was actively involved in campus life at StFX. She participated in debate, XPC, and Catholics at X; competed in a policy competition; and served as the student representative for religious inclusion on the President's Action Committee on Anti-Racism (PACAR).
Outside of school, she’s continued her work with Varsity Tutors, where she helps both adult and child learners, including children with learning disabilities. This work has been meaningful, she notes, particularly as she had a hard time learning herself as a child, influenced in part by coming to a new country and having a language barrier.
“I have a lot of gratitude for StFX,” she notes, singling out both the opportunities the university presents, and, importantly, its people, in the friends she’s made and the faculty support.
Ms. Wortman admits she almost didn't apply for the Mackenzie King Scholarship because she doubted she'd be successful. Dr. Levin encouraged her to try.
"Do it anyway," he told her.
“I’m really grateful to be part of StFX and to wear my X-Ring,” she says. “There’s something special about StFX.”
