McCall MacBain International Fellowship Recipients 2019
The application period for the 2025-26 cohort has ended, except for students from Dalhousie University, who can apply until January 20, 2025, 5 p.m. AST.
Suzanne
Political Science, McGill University
Fellowship year: Portugese in Brazil
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| Suzanne’s keen interest in social justice and humanitarianism have led her to work with organizations ranging from Oxfam-Quebec to Equitas-International Centre for Human Rights Education, to Opportutoring, which provides one-on-one Skype-based English language tutoring for Afghan and Syrian refugees. She is looking to add Portuguese to her toolkit (which includes intermediate Spanish and basic Chinese), and to work on social justice issues with at-risk communities in Brazil. |
Corinne
Gender Studies and Indigenous Studies, McGill University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Chile
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| Corinne is interested in a career in diplomacy and politics. Whether supporting students as a Residence Assistant, volunteering with the Canadian Improv Games, or advocating for a motion to de-gender the language used by the Student Society of McGill University, Corinne places inclusion and respect for all at the centre of what she does. Learning Kanien’ké:ha at McGill has inspired her to continue language learning, and she looks forward to building her Spanish language skills while in Chile. |
Georgia
Commerce, McGill University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Argentina
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| Georgia is passionate about environmental law and incorporating bottom line sustainability into the business world. Originally from Fredericton (NB), she studies Commerce – Managing for Sustainability and International Management at McGill University. She thinks both will be valuable as relations between Canada and Latin America grow, motivating her interest to learn Spanish and spend time in Argentina. While there, she intends to connect with the local chapter of CISV, a non-profit organization she has committed her time to for a decade that educates and inspires action for a more just and peaceful world. She also hopes to work on issues relating to sustainability. |
René
Electrical Engineering, McGill University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Mexico*
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| René’s engineering interests include electric vehicles and mining—and he particularly sees an opportunity to deepen his understanding of the latter while in Mexico, where he hopes to work for an international company and deepen both his engineering and cultural skills. An avid athlete (including soccer, tennis, and even underwater hockey), he hopes that joining sports teams while abroad will help him to learn Spanish and build relationships in his new community. *Because of the Covid Pandemic, René was unable to complete his full Fellowship year in Mexico. He later did a partial Fellowship in Colombia. |
Eric
Commerce, McGill University
Fellowship year: Swedish in Sweden
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| While proud of his smalltown roots in northwestern Ontario, Eric has sought out ways to connect globally, whether by attending McGill or going on exchange to Provence, France while in high school. Interested in sustainable investing, Eric heads to the Nordic region inspired by questions like “what international investments will help ensure the safety of our pension funds” and “should Canada have a sovereign wealth fund?” He looks forward to the lessons he can learn from the region—and to learning about Nordic culture. |
Elina
Economics and International Development, McGill University
Fellowship year: Arabic in Lebanon
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| No stranger to travel—Elina grew up in part in Bahrain and United Arab Emirates—or to language learning—she grew up speaking Urdu with her parents—Elina wants to learn Arabic and return to the Middle East to work on issues of inequality. While in Beirut, she hopes to work with international organizations that provide support to refugee communities. Her prior humanitarian work includes her role as Co-President of the McGill Students for Habitat for Humanity Montreal.Elina currently studies Economics and International Development at McGill University. |
Sydney
History and Russian Studies, McGill University
Fellowship year: Russian in Russia
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| Sydney has been passionate about language and history since she childhood. Her first year at McGill deepened her passion for the Russian language, literature and culture, solidifying a desire to spend time in Russia and, over the longer term, to teach these subjects in a post-secondary institution. Sydney also pursues studies in Eastern European Jewry, and has a passion to provoke thinking on important ideas through journalism. |
Celia
Urban Systems, McGill University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Argentina
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| Celia is passionate about urban planning and sustainable development—sustainable for people and planet. In 2018, she conducted research for her honors thesis in Hanoi, Vietnam, rising at 3am to interview youth street vendors who were migrating from surrounding regions in search of economic opportunity. Frustrated that she had to use a translator, she is excited to learn Spanish so that she will be able to connect directly with communities in growing urban centres and to work together with them for a sustainable future. |
Fern
Urban Systems, McGill University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Mexico
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| Fern has been involved with the fencing club and Queer McGill on campus. They spent the summer in Montreal working with refugee claimants, helping them get settled in the city. |
Cam
Kinesiology, University of Toronto
Fellowship year: Spanish in Spain
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| Cam is passionate about kinesiology and is interested in pursuing law after he graduates. He was a national water polo champion and past captain of the provincial water polo team. He currently studies Kinesiology at the University of Toronto. Growing up on a small hobby farm in rural BC, his move to Toronto to pursue his studies presented challenges but has inspired him to take the next step to study internationally. He is looking forward to having the opportunity to learn Spanish and finding a second home in Spain. |
Kieran
Engineering Science, University of Toronto
Fellowship year: Mandarin in Taiwan
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| Kieran has a strong interest in engineering and hopes to continue learning about the applications of artificial intelligence. During his high-school career, he founded a volunteer based tutoring program and is currently a lead project manager for VEEP at the University of Toronto, a student run club that provides local non-profits with engineering help. Kieran is excited to learn Mandarin in Taiwan because he has always been interested in the culture and considers learning a foreign language an essential part of his education in becoming a engineer. |
Aditi
Global Resource Systems, University of British Columbia
Fellowship year: French in France
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| Aditi specializes in economic policy research and is interested in how we can overcome economic inequality through alternative economic models. From Toronto (ON), she attends the University of British Columbia as a Global Resource Systems – Economics student. After her first year in the Science One program at UBC, Aditi founded and coordinated a monthly wellness workshop focused on promoting a healthy transition into university. While in France, Aditi is looking forward to stepping outside her comfort zone and hopes to work with community organizations that provide support to refugees. |
Callista
International Relations, Western University
Fellowship year: Mandarin in China
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| Callista has a strong interest in foreign policy and envisions herself entering into politics in the future. Originally from Squamish (BC), she now attends Western University as an International Relations student. She has been involved in the British Columbia youth parliament for five consecutive years as the provincial secretary and helped implement a module to train student leaders on campus at Western to manage financial aid disclosures. Ever since she was young, Callista has been interested in Chinese history and politics, taking every opportunity to write her university foreign policy papers about the country. She is excited to continue her learning and immerse herself in the culture. |
Faris
Arts & Science, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Uruguay
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| Faris is passionate about global justice and protecting the environment. He is currently part of the Board of Directors for the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at McMaster and the IT Representative for the Ismaili Student’s Association. South America is a place Faris has wanted to visit for a long time because of its lively culture and political power. He is excited to see how the world works from a different perspective and master the Spanish language. |
Janine
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, McGill University
Fellowship year: Finnish in Finland
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| Janine has a deep love for adventure and passion for agriculture. From West Bay (NS), she is in the Agricultural and Environmental Sciences program at McGill’s Macdonald campus. She recently co-founded the Women in Agriculture Club at McGill with the goal of creating a support network for women in a male dominated industry and was the leader of a community program developed to entertain rural students on long bus rides to and from school. Having lived internationally as a child, Janine is looking forward to the opportunity to experience a different culture again and form a new community. She is excited to take on the challenge of learning Sami and continue studying in her areas of passion. |
Jes
Political Science, University of Ottawa
Fellowship year: Estonian in Estonia
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| Jes is interested in a career in politics and environmental policy work. Originally from Whitehorse (YK), she currently studies Political Science and Environmental Science at the University of Ottawa. Jes coordinates a mentorship program she designed, launched and pitched to the National Capital Branch of the Canadian International Council. She is also one of four members of the iVote-jeVote team working to educate the public on contemporary political issues and inspiring public debate. Jes has always been fascinated by Eastern Europe and, with aspirations to become an ambassador in the future, she is committed to becoming an expert on Eastern European culture. |
Émélie
Geological Engineering, Queen’s University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Costa Rica
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| Émélie is passionate about engineering and public policy. At Queen’s University, where she studies Geological Engineering, she is currently a project manager with Enactus leading a team of five students, as well as an Outreach Coordinator for World University Services of Canada. During her year abroad, Émélie wants to step outside her comfort zone and take courses in the art and social science realm. She is looking forward to developing meaningful friendships and learning Spanish in a smaller town where English isn’t the dominant language. |
Yuna
Medical Sciences, Dalhousie University
Fellowship year: Japanese in Japan
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| Yuna is very interested in mental health specifically in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry. Originally from Moncton (NB), she studies Medical Sciences at Dalhousie University. She is one of the longest-serving volunteers at the Dalhousie Campus Food Bank, currently in charge of their communications and media. Yuna is also the fundraising manager of Art for Everyone, a student society that aims to positively affect people’s lives through art. During her year abroad, Yuna is looking forward to broadening her perspective, getting to know a new community of people, and challenging herself to write the Japanese-Language Proficiency test. |
Abby
Health Sciences, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Costa Rica
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| Abby is passionate about global health and advocacy. She’s spent one summer volunteering in Central America onboard the ship Logos Hope that sails around the world to share knowledge, help, and hope. Abby also volunteers every other week at the Hamilton Ronald McDonald house supporting the families of children who are at the McMaster Children’s Hospital. She is excited to explore a new culture and hopes to continue pursuing her interests of social justice and global health through volunteering while abroad. |
Kartik
Arts and Science, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Argentina
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| Kartik is passionate about health economics and policy. He is a Fellow in Strengthening Health and Social Systems on McMaster’s Health Forum, contributing to projects aimed at improving the use of research evidence in policymaking. As a way to give back to his McMaster community, Kartik spends four hours a week as a Student Walk Home Attendant on campus. Fascinated with Argentina’s historic transformations and natural beauty , Kartik is very excited to learn more about the country and continue his education on health systems in different countries. |
Tereza
Health Sciences, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Mandarin in China
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| Tereza’s interests and passions include health and diplomacy. Currently, she is a member of the McMaster Student Representative Assembly and works with the Provincial, Federal and Municipal affairs committees to develop campaigns. Tereza joined the Bachelor of Health Sciences society at McMaster in first year and since then has been contributing her time to their various initiatives. Recently, she took on the lead role in managing the Writer’s Clinic Initiative. With a future interest in working for a global organization, Tereza feels like China will be a perfect fit for her year abroad. |
Tasneem
Arts and Science, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Arabic in Lebanon
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| Tasneem areas of interest include public health and strategic consulting. She is currently the Arts and Science Representative for the Student Residents Association at McMaster, advocating and expressing concerns on behalf of her fellow undergraduates. When she is not studying her free time is spent as the Managing Director of HacktheCity, a local Hamilton non-profit organization – created for students by students – that aims to accelerate Hamilton’s innovation ecosystem. Tasneem is looking forward to the learning, friendship and growth opportunities that will come with a year abroad. |
Clare-Marie
English and Cultural Studies, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Peru
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| Clare-Marie passions include education and working with youth. She currently volunteers at Pathways to Education helping at-risk high school students with homework, career planning and goal setting. Clare-Marie has also been the secretary for Open Circle at McMaster over the past two years, helping to organize school wide events and brainstorm ideas to help students de-stress. With an future interest in teaching internationally, Clare hopes to find the opportunity to teach English to locals in her community while also immersing herself in learning their language. |
Emily
Chemical Biology, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Spanish in Chile
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| Emily has a strong interest in immunology and is passionate about working with people with special needs. She spends her time as a volunteer head instructor for SWAM Hamilton, a program designed to offer children with special needs a chance to learn how to swim. With an interest in how older folks with disabilities navigate the world, Emily became a Volunteer Buddy with Best Buddies McMaster. Emily is looking forward to getting to know the members of the community she will be staying with in South America. |
Emma
Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University
Fellowship year: Swedish in Sweden
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| Emma’s passions include mathematics, youth engagement and rock climbing. She is currently the VP of Communications for MaSS, a society dedicated to bringing the math community together and breaking down common stereotypes of the mathematics field. She was a MIT Splash Instructor and had the chance to introduce younger peers to how fascinating mathematics can be. During her year abroad in Sweden, Emma is hoping to volunteer with refugees and develop strong Swedish speaking skills. |