Benji Jacob had lived in three countries by the time he arrived at the University of Toronto Mississauga with two suitcases and a backpack, alone, at 22. He had planned to study neuroscience.
The plan changed. He switched into psychology, and the switch stuck — he graduates this year as a psychology specialist with a double minor in biology and biomedical communication.
It's my little baby. It's my third space,Benji Jacob
That third space is Studio X, the campus art collective he founded in 2022 to build installations across UTM. Alongside it, he became senior project co-ordinator for the longitudinal study Giving Voice, in Dr. Joanne Chung's lab.
Scholar to Scholar
He arrived at UTM on a Lester B. Pearson Scholarship and later became a Laidlaw Scholar, using the Laidlaw research year to study identity development among queer people of colour. He also served as president of the Psychology Association of Undergraduate Students at Erindale, picking up several leadership awards along the way.
He graduates as UTM's 2026 valedictorian with a PhD in social personality psychology in his sights — still, by his own account, building his third space.
Reported from 'Freedom to explore who I am': Valedictorian finds growth, direction at UTM, by Kate Martin (U of T Alumni News, June 5, 2026).
More from the original reporting: alumni.utoronto.ca/news/valedictorian-finds-growth-direction-utm