McCall MacBain International Fellowship Recipients 2020

Shirley

Political Science, Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University

Fellowship year: German in Germany

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Shirley’s interests converge on writing about and participating in international affairs forums. She started as a staff writer with the McGill International Review in first year university and has worked her way to managing editor. Shirley has also represented McGill at international conventions including one on defense and another addressing the status of women. Last summer, Shirley completed five weeks of intensive French immersion in Saguenay, Québec, before a stint at a small environmental non-profit in nearby Chicoutimi. She has also worked at a laboratory and interned in marketing in Shanghai and foreign policy in Washington. Shirley will be embarking on her fellowship to Germany, hoping to intimately observe the country’s immense influence on modern-day politics, while learning German.

Claire

Political Science & Religion, McGill University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Spain

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Claire holds deep roots in a variety of communities, starting in her homeplace of Welland, Ontario, where she co-wrote and fundraised for a theatre production highlighting Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit people. Claire also worked at a social services organization, volunteered at a café that served a hub for local artists, and participated in multiple municipal political campaigns. Claire also serves a connector within and between communities, doing so currently in a collaborative effort to run a mobile dental clinic for an unhoused community in east Montréal. Outside of Canada, Claire has spent time in Italy to learn about Roman religion. She is particularly interested in studying the effects of de/colonization on political behaviour while on her year abroad in Spain.

Béatrice

Bioresource Engineering, McGill University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Mexico

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Béatrice is committed to issues related to food security, urbanization, agriculture and the environment. She has created urban agriculture initiatives, worked in biomass production, and helped establish a mobile food market in an area lacking affordable nutritious food. Béatrice has worked with marginalized communities, including adults living with disabilities, newcomers, and young offenders. With all the groups with which she engages, Béatrice demonstrates that the knowledge and connections marginalized people hold are actually critical to broader societies’ ability to tackle social concerns. Béatrice will spend her fellowship year in Mexico and aims to learn about sustainable and resilient agriculture approaches.

Janella

Natural Resources and Environmental Biology, McGill University

Fellowship year: Korean in South Korea

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Janella is passionate about wildlife and environmental health and preservation. In CÉGEP, she achieved a sustainability major which included intensive extra-curricular involvement in water conservation, composting, and garden management. She currently is working towards a degree in natural resources and environmental biology with aspirations to become a biologist or zoologist. Janella is also driven to learn new languages, and has been studying Korean for the past four years on her own. When not working or studying, Janella sings in a gospel choir. With past jobs in labs, gardens, and animal research, Janella brings a variety of experiences to her fellowship year in Korea, where she hopes to gain insight into the endemic species of the region and, of course, master Korean.

Hugh

Mechanical Engineering, McGill University

Fellowship year: French in Senegal

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Before moving to Montreal to attend McGill as a Loran Scholar, Hugh went to school in Sydney where he was a volunteer bush firefighter, founder and president of the mathematics club at his high school, and a track athlete. At McGill, Hugh has served on residence council, played on the men’s varsity rugby team, and currently teaches swimming to students with disabilities. Last summer, Hugh spent three months in Panamá City, where he interned at a robotics company that uses drones for humanitarian applications, including crop health analysis, flood risk modelling and reduction of disease-carrying mosquitoes. Prior to departing for Panamá City, Hugh lived in Trois-Rivières on the Explore program. He aims to understand the politics, history and culture of Senegal by immersing himself there for a year as a Fellow and learning French.

Parnika

Arts & Science, McMaster University

Fellowship year: French in Morocco

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Parnika’s focus academically and in her community service is on social justice through health and policy perspectives. She is particularly dedicated to increasing awareness of Indigenous health inequities; providing peer support to survivors of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; and promoting activism among young people on issues such as gentrification in Hamilton. Parnika also volunteers with a drop-in program for people who use drugs (PWUD), helping facilitate a forum for people with lived experience of drug use to discuss and advocate for issues affecting PWUD. During her past few summers, Parnika held internships with a health startup in Vancouver, helped establish a microenterprise in Musembe Village, Lugari District, Kenya, and previously worked as a tutor of mathematics and english. Recreationally, Parnika holds both glider and power pilot’s licenses and flies for fun. She will spend her fellowship year in Morocco, and aims to learn about culturally-appropriate ways to improve health outcomes for at-risk populations in the country.

Andy

Software Engineering, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Japanese in Japan

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Last year, Andy was a Community Advisor in residence, earning the 2019 Excellence in Community Development (LLC) Award from McMaster Residence Life. His contributions included creating professional/academic development opportunities (one example was hosting a residence-wide mini-scale engineering competition for students to practice for the actual event); facilitating cross-club collaboration and promoting students’ personal growth. Previously, Andy served as Logistics Coordinator for the McMaster Engineering Competition. Both roles involved approximately 500 people. He currently works part-time as a tutor with the engineering department, and is interning in software development at AMD, a company that produces high-performance computing and graphics tools.

Sneha

Arts & Science, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Argentina

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The core of Sneha’s work is in transnational and transcultural understanding and advocacy. Sneha founded the War Child club at McMaster and oversees its news committee. She coordinates the social and political advocacy efforts at the McMaster Student Union Diversity Services, as well as the discussion group for the McMaster Gender and Sexuality Circle. With strong engagement in civic issues in addition to her global outlook, Sneha was previously Co-Executive Director of an organization in Peterborough that facilitated youth involvement in their communities. She also volunteered with the Nogojiwanong Youth Solidarity Initiative, aimed at building connections between newcomer and Indigenous youth. Along with fellow youth, Sneha served on the research team to inform the writing of the book Women on the Ballot, about women-identified representation in Canadian politics. She continues to conduct research on topics related to democracy and elections with McMaster. Last summer, Sneha was employed as a summer reading camp counsellor with Frontier College in Wabaseemong and Neskantaga, Ontario.

Samidha

Philosophy, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Arabic in Egypt

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Samidha is an ambassador, educator and public speaker for several initiatives related to children’s aid. She serves in advisory capacities for municipal, provincial and national children’s aid bodies. As a youth advisor to the Hamilton Catholic Children’s Aid Society, Samidha creates and consults on events for current and former youth in foster care and provides education on policy changes and programs pertaining to foster care. She also tutored at the Children’s Aid Societies of Hamilton and supports foster parent and social worker training. On campus, Samidha previously sat on the DeGroote First Year Student Council and helped manage events for first-year commerce students. Last summer, she interned as an analyst at CIBC headquarters working in anti-money laundering operations, web development, and employee relations. This year, Samidha is hoping to get involved with non-profit organizations serving youth while learning Arabic in Egypt on her fellowship.

* Only nine Fellows went abroad in 2020 out of a larger selected cohort, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,

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