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My name is Mary Lynne Loftus and I鈥檓 entering my final year at McGill. I am majoring in Political Science with a double minor in Communication Studies and Canadian Ethnic and Racial Studies. As a Political Science student, I am deeply interested in the ways in which political structures and organizations affect people鈥檚 everyday lives. The Institute for Human Development and Well Being uses interdisciplinary research methods and policy making in order to positively affect change in communities in Montreal and abroad. The IHDW specifically focuses on at-risk individuals and populations such as those with mental health issues and learning disabilities, as well as low-income and Indigenous peoples.

The IHDW鈥檚 mission appealed to me because it focuses on empowering communities and providing them with tools and resources to succeed. I also wanted to learn more about how participatory research methods worked in community projects. Going into the research internship, I wanted to improve my writing, communication and social media skills and I believe I was successfully able to do so thanks to the positive work environment, as well as my encouraging supervisor and fellow interns.

As a research intern, I was assigned to the Participatory Research on Education and Agency in Mali (PREAM) project. This project is a collaboration between McGill and Plan International and involves participatory research with primary school girls in Mali, exploring the links between girls鈥� agency and education. I researched potential partner organizations and previous initiatives that are linked to the goals of the project. In addition, I worked on a literature review about girls鈥� agency in West Africa and Mali and its links to success in school.

I also helped organize the IMAGINING Symposium, which was organized in collaboration with the IHDW. The two-day conference brought together leading Indigenous scholars, community activists and teachers to discuss the 鈥楾he Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada鈥檚 Calls to Action鈥� for education. Through breakout room discussions and panels, the conference created a platform for discussions about how to Indigenize academia in Canada. I was responsible for the promotion of the event and helped create and manage our Eventbrite page, as well as our Facebook page. In addition, I took notes during the conference and liaised with panelists to help them with logistics during their presentations.

Finally, I worked with the working group entitled 鈥淢obilizing Technologies During COVID-19.鈥� This project brought together IHDW interns, as well as Networks for Change interns, to create a toolkit for organizations that are adapting to the pandemic. I worked on the toolkit section that explains how to use storage and connection platforms such as One Drive, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack in order to improve the functioning of organizations and facilitate communication and data sharing.

Overall, I am extremely grateful to have worked for an organization with a mission that I am passionate about. I hope to stay engaged with the IHDW for the rest of my time at McGill. The team at the IHDW was extremely supportive and kind throughout my internship. The intern team operated on Microsoft Teams and this definitely helped facilitate communication and the distribution of tasks. Doing a remote internship presents challenges such as feeling disconnected from co-workers but the IHDW was proactive in creating bonding opportunities for the interns. At the end of the internship, the IHDW team organized a virtual picnic and it was a lovely way to say goodbye to our coordinators and express our gratitude for the opportunity to hone our skills and learn from them.

I am not receiving academic credit for the internship but am deeply grateful for the opportunity to improve my research and writing skills. This internship is the last one I will do with the McGill Arts Internship Office and I am grateful that the office has supported me and my career interests throughout my time at McGill. Interning with the IHDW has renewed my interest in international development projects such as PREAM and showed me how policy can have a tangible impact on people鈥檚 lives. I hope to study Public Policy after graduating from McGill and my internship this summer helped me reaffirm my interest in this field. I would like to thank the Arts Internship Office for helping fund my Arts Internship The Faculty of Arts Internship Awards EEO. It helped me grow professionally and personally. Furthermore, has inspired me to continue to be involved in my community and especially work with populations that are most at need and urgently requiring innovative public policy solutions.