Internship Spotlight: Julia Navarrete - TRANSFORM: Engaging with Young People for Social Change

I want to begin by extending my heartfelt gratitude for your generous donation of the Toten Family Arts Internship Award, which allowed me to intern at Transform: Engaging with Young People for Social Change. I am an international student from Mexico City, currently entering my third year at McGill University as an Anthropology major and a World Islamic and Middle East Studies minor. My academic interests lie in social justice, with a particular focus on the political and social realities of Latin America. This internship offered me the opportunity to actively engage with both my academic and personal passions.

During the summer, I worked with the Participatory Cultures Lab, where I witnessed the many ways arts-based methodologies can engage youth in social change. My main project involved reviewing the data from one of Transform’s initiatives: the International Youth Summit in Durban, South Africa. For this project, youth from around the world, including Mexico, were invited to create a photovoice on gender in their community. Each participant took a photograph, added a caption, and shared it with youth from other countries in the Youth Summit in Durban. This process fostered transnational solidarity and meaningful dialogue.

From over 100 photovoices submitted, 30 were selected by the youth themselves to form what is now known as The Travelling Exhibition. Each group brought these selected images back to their own communities, inviting discussion and reflection on gender issues across the globe. At the lab, our current focus is on developing ways for these youth to remain connected beyond the summit, as well as organizing the data coming out of all these different projects.

My role involved organizing and analyzing the photovoice data, which allowed me to gain new technical skills in Excel, including building structured datasets, coding data into themes and sub-themes, and using Power Query tools for statistical and thematic analysis. I also transcribed and summarized video media, made recommendations for research tools, and supported the development of reproducible datasets for future research. A highlight of my internship was facilitating my own photovoice workshop for the IMPRESS team, where I introduced 15 participants to this method and demonstrated how it can inspire social change.

My academic background in Anthropology provided a strong foundation for this work. It reminded me of the importance of allowing youth voices to speak for themselves, especially when handling qualitative data. I approached each form of media with care, ensuring I used their words rather than imposing my own interpretations. One of the main challenges I faced was learning to manage qualitative data in Excel. Initially, it felt daunting to organize and normalize large datasets. However, with the guidance of my team, I developed these skills and now feel confident that they will benefit me in future research and professional opportunities.

Toten Family Arts Internship Award’s financial support allowed me to fully dedicate my summer to this internship without needing a secondary job. It gave me the freedom to focus on advancing my skills, building professional connections, and contributing meaningfully to Transform’s mission. Thank you once again, Mr. Kenneth A. Toten, for your generosity and for making this invaluable experience possible.