I am a rising U3 McGill University student pursuing a joint honours degree in Philosophy and Political Science. I am particularly interested in feminist and continental philosophy and will be writing my honors theis on Gendered Speech Acts and Oppressive Words of Othering this upcoming year. In political science, I am most passionate about international relations — specifically international law, human rights, and LGBTQ transnational movements. In the future, I am hoping to pursue a JD with a specialization in international or human rights law, or an MA in human rights, international affairs, or international public policy.
I wanted to do an internship with Social Justice Connection because I thought it would be a great opportunity to combine both my research skills and interests in human rights with an applied, educational focus. In doing so, my goal was to gain insight on how research on systematic and structural inequalities and injustices could be translated into a tangible, pedagogical curriculum to be spread in order to educate populations on said injustices. Social Justice Connection’s educational branch, Educonnexion, did just that. By using education and advocacy, Social Justice Connection aims to inform and engage individuals about global poverty, inequality, and social justice. Educonnexion teaches groups — such as NGOs, schools, universities, or community groups — about responsible global citizenship, social justice, and change-making via interactive workshops and tool kits to learn and inform others of global issues.
I had three main responsibilities as an intern at Social Justice Connection. The largest one was research: I, alongside other interns, researched information and wrote detailed literature reviews — in French and English — related to specific workshops we were most interested in developing. I researched for three workshops. The first focused on the psychological barriers of adopting pro-environmental behavior and the means to overcome them. The second involved researching various mechanisms of influence and the obstacles that lay in front of eco-social influence, specifically issues such as biases and cognitive dissonance. The last was a workshop analyzing the interconnectedness of causes and consequences for global issues, such as the climate crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic. My second responsibility was working with the other interns and staff at the organization to review and organize research, as well as begin developing it into an educational program. Lastly, I worked on the project management of an informational video surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, highlighting social, political, economic, environmental, and psychological implications and inequalities. I was not receiving credit.
The research was much more psychologically focused than I thought it would be — however, I found it extremely valuable for furthering my interest in human rights, environmental policy, and global inequalities as it highlighted these barriers I would not have considered beforehand. Therefore, I think the translation of my interest in these topics into an applied focus will help me in my future career — one involving policy analysis and development of issues such as gender-based human rights dilemmas. Further, the intensified reserach methods required for the internship will help me in graduate level studies, as it allowed me to build upon and further my previous research-based skill set on political and global affairs.
The funds that I received for the internship were helpful because they allowed me to hold this position — which took many hours a week — without worrying about the fact that it was unpaid. It helped with my living expenses associated with being in Montreal, specifically because it was remote and I was relying heavily on my own internet access. The remote format of the internship, though unusual, actually provided a lot of opportunity to work on my individual time management skills. I adapted to the lack of fixed schedule by creating my own, working around the meetings I had with the team and focusing my time on periods where I would normally be in the office. Further, I set aside tasks each day in order to make sure I stayed on task and avoided procrastination — easy without supervision or a normal office setting.
