Putting democracy into action
From left: Arts graduate students Natalie Sotelo, Russell Clarke and Kaelan Ruddick are applying their knowledge at civic and democratic organizations through the TMU Democracy Internship.
This summer, six graduate students in the Faculty of Arts are putting their skills into action through the TMU Democracy Internship. The program provides undergraduate and graduate Arts students with a $3,000 stipend to gain hands-on experience with civic and democratic organizations across Canada.
Students work up to 120 hours with partner organizations on research, communications, public outreach, event planning and more. The internships enable students to gain valuable real-world experience and develop practical skills through university-based initiatives, civic organizations and community partners working to strengthen democratic engagement, institutions and practices in Canada.
At Operation Black Vote, Communication and Culture PhD student Natalie Sotelo is researching voting rights issues affecting Black Canadians, examining Canadian electoral policies and their impact on underrepresented communities, and collaborating on policy briefs and position papers that outline recommendations for improving voter access and engagement for marginalized groups.
“In this role, I am building the capacity to influence policy, engage diverse communities and produce work that drives social change, skills essential for a career focused on advancing equity and justice in Canadian research and policymaking,” said Sotelo.
Philosophy MA student Russell Clarke says his internship experience at Apathy Is Boring has been “extremely useful and exciting.” At the non-profit organization, he conducts literature reviews, research summaries and contributes to the writing of reports and guides. In addition, Clarke is revising the organization’s Youth Friendly Guide, a guideline for political institutions and civic organizations on engaging youth in the electoral process and everyday politics, and will be leading a research roundtable and participating in their new podcast.
Meanwhile, as an election tracker research intern at Equal Voice, Psychology MA student Kaelan Ruddick is conducting research related to women’s and gender-diverse people’s political engagement. Ruddick is also ensuring that all public-facing data on women’s participation in politics at the federal and provincial/territorial levels is up to date and accurate.
“It has been a great opportunity to put my research skills into practice, as well as using skills I already have from previous work experience, to help the team in ways that we didn’t originally plan for,” said Ruddick. “The people I am working with are great; it’s always amazing to learn from passionate women leaders!”
The TMU Democracy Internship is funded by the generous support of the Chic family in memory of TMU instructor Jacquie Chic, in collaboration with the Jarislowsky Democracy Chair.