The Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS) Internship Awards Program grants students the opportunity to work with organizations that address issues of social and economic justice. In the program’s inaugural year, five undergraduate students received $6,000 to intern for 12 weeks during the Summer 2018 semester. The awards were sponsored through the generosity of donors.
The recipients of the Summer 2018 LA&PS Internship Awards (left to right): Alicia Oliveri, Jasmine Ali, Amir Moghisy, Francis Wong and Jodi Harvey
“Our Faculty’s Internship Awards Program is an outstanding success that began under the leadership of former Dean Ananya Mukherjee-Reed to provide experiential learning opportunities for our students at social service agencies and organizations,” said Narda Razack, associate dean, global and community engagement. “The feedback from both students and agency supervisors was excellent. Karlene Davis, the experiential education coordinator, is to be commended for her dedication and expertise in building relationships and working positively with students and our community and business partners.”
The internships fit into at least one of the following three categories: Indigenous rights; social justice, equity and inclusion; and economic justice.
The recipients of the Summer 2018 LA&PS Internship Awards were:
- Alicia Oliveri, communications and social media intern, who worked with Doreen Way at ARCH Disability Law Centre;
- Jasmine Ali, community research intern, who worked with Wanda MacNevin and Richard De Gaetano at the York U – TD Community Engagement Centre;
- Amir Moghisy, financial literacy developer intern, and Francis Wong, community development action intern, who worked with Wayne Woolery and Clara Stewart-Robertson, respectively, at the Jane Finch Community and Family Centre; and
- Jodi Harvey, program communication intern, who worked with Susanna Redekop and Leanne Unruh at the West End Food Co-op.
Oliveri, who is majoring in Communication Studies, credits the internship experience with influencing her short- and long-term career goals.
“This internship has made me realize my interest in design and has me looking into graphic design programs after graduating,” she said. “This internship will also affect my career goals long term, as it has helped me realize what knowledge I am lacking and need to learn in order to get hired, work and succeed in the field of communications.”
Moghisy, a Financial and Business Economics student and entrepreneur, saw his term at the Jane Finch Community and Family Centre as an opportunity to create a network and expand his financial knowledge.
Future interns should be unafraid to fail, he advised: “In contrast to future jobs and positions, this placement gives you the opportunity to grow by making mistakes and learning from them.”
For Sociology student Ali, her experience with the York University – TD Community Engagement Centre was a way to make a difference in the wider community.
“I want to continue using what I have learned through this internship, not just for me, but I want to share what I have learned with the communities that I care about in the hopes of making this information more accessible,” she said.
The LA&PS Internship Awards are open to third- and fourth-year undergraduate students enrolled in a degree program in York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. Applications will reopen in the spring of 2019. Visit the LA&PS Internship Awards website for further information, and learn more about this year’s interns in the winners gallery.