McCall MacBain International Fellowship Recipients 2023

Wendy

International Development Studies and Cultural Studies, McGill University

Fellowship year: Dutch in The Netherlands

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Wendy is a passionate advocate of sustainable development and wishes to work in governance and policy to ensure an ecological future. She is interested in integrating her Cultural Studies background with her interest in International Development by exploring how media portrayals of nature can influence societal views and environmental policy. Winner of a BC Achievement Award, Wendy displays her leadership within the McGill community by serving as a multimedia editor at the McGill Tribune, where she uplifted diverse voices through her initiative of producing a weekly news show often covering issues related to Indigenous communities, race and gender, and global news. She also served as a video producer and editor for the McGill Biology Student Union and TVMcGill, an orientation leader for McGill Arts Orientation, and a graphic designer for the McGill Policy Association and MustBus Co-op, a student-run intercity bus service.

Zahra

International Development Studies, McGill University

Fellowship year: Korean in South Korea

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Zahra grew up as a second-generation Somali immigrant in Quebec City. Committed to uplifting marginalized communities and youth advocacy, she served as the President of the St. Lawrence Intercultural Club where she initiated and led diversity and inclusion projects. She also served as a youth advisor to the National Leadership Team on Tobacco and Vaping with Health Canada where she advised on youth-targeted educational campaigns. Winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Medal and a McGill African Student Society Education Scholarship, Zahra now heads to South Korea.

Laurie

Sociology and Anthropology, McGill University

Fellowship year: Japanese in Japan

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Laurie has been volunteering with children in primary schools, refugees at language centers, Asian-American advocacy, and youth mentorship. She attended the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales on a scholarship. She has supported the Asian-American community by helping organize the first Asian-American-led march on the National Mall in the USA with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and has advocated for housing accessibility with the Chinese Progressive Association in Boston. At McGill, she has served as a Student Executive at the McGill Christian Fellowship, currently volunteers with The Open Door/La Porte Ouverte, and coordinates the Sustainable Events Program with the McGill Office of Sustainability.

Dev

Economics, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Japanese in Japan

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At McMaster, Dev serves as the Vice President of Administration at McMaster Culture Connect, the Executive of Events at the McMaster International & Exchange Club, helps run social media for the McMaster Economics Society, and helps incoming international exchange students integrate through the Mac Buddy Program with the Student Success Centre. He also worked to help orient incoming residents at McMaster Housing and as a tutor with Pathways to Education at the Community Volunteer Circle.

Nikita

Social Work, McGill University

Fellowship year: Portuguese in Portugal

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Nikita has been volunteering as a tutor at the Batshaw Youth and Family Centre, became a crisis responder with Kids Help Phone, and a buddy with the Friendship Circle. She also worked as a coordinator of a community action plan at Dawson College. While studying, she worked 20-30 hours a week at Open Door, a local shelter for people experiencing homelessness. She took on a leadership position there where she worked with people in precarious housing situations, often with substance misuse and mental health issues. Now she will head to Portugal in hopes of learning more about their harm reduction and decriminalization policy framework for drug use and consider how this approach might be applied in Canada.

Jennifer

Commerce, McGill University

Fellowship year: Korean in South Korea

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Jennifer serves as the Co-President of the Junior Hong Kong-Canada Business Association, as a Junior Team Canada Ambassador at Global Vision, and is also a member of the Canada China Forum. At McGill, she volunteers as an Ambassador for the Desautels Exchange Network. She is a recipient of the Commerce 1955 Scholarship and is a Gerald Schwartz & Heather Reisman Foundation Alumna. She is excited to spend a year in South Korea.

Zachary

Social Work, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Argentina

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Zachary worked to support struggling families by connecting them to relevant supports with the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton and worked at a men’s shelter with Mission Services. He volunteered with the YMCA, at the after-school programs and instructed swimming and first aid courses. He is a musician and songwriter. At McMaster he hosts a radio show and was captain of his Intramural Ultimate Frisbee Team.

Echo

Social Work, McGill University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Mexico

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Born and raised in Qingdao, a city of 9 million, Echo took a leap of faith at the age of 15 and moved to La Pocatière, a small town in rural Quebec, to learn French. With Students for Consent Culture, she helped develop an educational toolkit for campaigns on consent culture in post-secondary schools in Canada. With Apathy is Boring, she co-created a community project on gender inclusion. She also managed public relations for an Indigenous food security project for the Cree nation of Waskaganish in Northern Quebec. She is now excited to spend a year in southern Mexico.

Kylie

Biological, Biomedical and Life Sciences, McGill University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Colombia

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Kylie grew up on a farm with a love for animals, often finding herself in a barn or horses stables. Kylie worked for two summers doing agricultural research at the University of Guelph focusing on asparagus variety breeding and cucumber variety evaluation. She also worked for the Ontario Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs collecting and analyzing data from agricultural research plots including haskap, hops and hemp. Off the farm and outside of labs, she is passionate about playing and refereeing competitive volleyball, and volunteers with patients in long-term care to provide recreational services.

Teagan

Integrated Science, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Chile

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Teagan was a team leader in the WACE Practera Global Challenge, where she worked with individuals from four continents to author a report to better align business with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. She has also been a delegate for Model United Nations and has helped translate and deliver online driving courses to French-speaking newcomers at the Immigrants Working Centre. Her last two summers have been spent working at Ontario Parks. She grew up training as a national-level gymnast and worked as a competitive gymnastics coach. At McMaster, she volunteers as the club treasurer of the gymnastics team and as an educational leader for the Sustainable Development Hub. She is now keen to learn Spanish and study and work in Chile.

Misty

Health Sciences with a specialization in Child Health, McMaster University

Fellowship year: Spanish in Spain

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Misty came to McMaster on a President’s Entrance Award with a passion for studying Health Science and excited to get involved with Hamilton’s outdoor community. She was involved with McMaster Outdoor Recreation and was Trip Coordinator for the McMaster Outdoor Club. She has organized youth camps and lead fundraiser events with Girl Guides, as well as previously working at a long-term care home preparing meal services catered to specific dietary needs. She went on a backpacking trip in South America last summer where she was exposed to new realities. Misty is now driven to learn Spanish and ready to embark on a new adventure.

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