Conducting research this summer as a recipient of the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Award was not only an inspirational experience for six StFX students—for some, it was also life-altering.
StFX students Nicholas Bremner, Megan Farrell, Grace Fillmore, Nathalie Gatti, Gurkanwarpartap Grewal and Kaytland Smith each received $8,000 for 14 weeks employment and worked on projects from barriers women face in seeking re-election in municipal politics to agricultural development projects.
The RBC awards, aligned with StFX’s Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, support student research projects that explore public policy and governance issues related to women’s studies and leadership, economics, trade and finance, Canada-U.S. relations, global affairs, environmental issues and policy, Indigenous affairs and governance, underserved communities, social policy and government, and multiculturalism and linguistic diversity.
SHAPED FUTURE GOALS
“This research experience has helped shape my goals for the future. I am now considering specializing in environmental law after I finish my degree at StFX so that I can help protect other environmental resources like Lake Winnipeg,” says Grace Fillmore of Canning, NS.
The fourth year honours public policy and governance student who is taking a subsidiary in political science studied the governance structures of Lake Winnipeg, Canada’s sixth largest lake and the site of severe aquatic pollution. Ms. Fillmore says there is a startling lack of public awareness surrounding the full extent of Lake Winnipeg's precarious position, that it is at risk of dying, and it should be widely known as a serious Canadian environmental crisis.
“For decades governments have struggled to implement successful policy measures aimed at stopping the lake’s decline. Lake Winnipeg is also a serious concern for Canada-U.S. relations, as most of its pollution flows north from the Red River,” says Ms. Fillmore, who is supervised by Dr. Peter Clancy.
“Throughout my research I have studied various aspects of Lake Winnipeg governance including the science sector, federal, provincial, and cross-border coordination, First Nations involvement, conflict surrounding Manitoba’s hog industry and agricultural sector, and necessary future policy steps for remediation.”
She says receiving the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Award has given her the ability to spend her summer focusing fully on her research, while also completing an internship with her faculty supervisor. “It has resulted in a 100 page monograph, which I hope to be able to present to policymakers and/or publish in an academic journal.”
WOMEN AND MUNICIPAL POLITICS
For Kaytland Smith, receiving the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Award enabled her to invite past women municipal councillors from across the province of Nova Scotia to participate in a research study about their experience as municipal councillors and to examine the reasons why women are not seeking re-election.
“Municipal government, particularly women's roles in municipal government, is a subject matter that I hold very personally and close to my heart. In completing this research and providing information to the greater academic field, I feel I am doing justice to those women who have pioneered women's representation and local government and giving back to an area that has done so much to enrich my personal life and experience,” says Ms. Smith, a fourth year honours public policy and governance student from Smithfield, NS, taking a subsidiary in political science, with a concentration in anthropology. She is working under the supervision of Dr. Rebecca Wallace.
“Without access to the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Award, I would not have been able to complete this research this summer. I come from the unique circumstance of being a mature student with young children, which means there are financial, logistical, and time constraints that can make research work difficult. Being supported through research funding opportunities such as the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Summer Research Internship Award ensures that I have the financial capacity to complete my research, allowing me to commit myself to the project.”
Ms. Smith says when planning for research over the summer, she had intended to spend a maximum of two weeks compiling data and statistics for review and comparison in the research. “Within the first two days, it became clearer the lack of centralized or reliable data pertaining to municipal councils in general and the nonexistent information surrounding women in municipal government. This highlights to me not only the importance of what I'm doing but also the vital impact this research and compiled data will have on the field and our ability to properly address women's ability to achieve electoral success in municipal government.”
LEARNED SO MUCH
“This is such an incredible opportunity. To be able to focus on my research this summer in preparation for my thesis and my final year at X has been invaluable,” says Nathalie Gatti of Mississauga, ON, a fourth year honours development studies student taking a subsidiary in political science. Ms. Gatti has been investigating the transparency of multilateral and private agriculture development agencies, their projects and programming, and their stakeholder consultation processes.
“I have learnt so much throughout this experience about agriculture, development, and policy spaces as well as about myself. This experience has exposed me to a large community of food systems activists, academics, and organizations working to establish more equitable and secure food systems internationally, which has been incredibly inspirational.”
Ms. Gatti, supervised by Dr. Kim Burnett, says she has been really interested in the relationships between rights-bearers and development agencies and the active considerations and inclusion of the diverse interests of small-holder participants in agriculture development programming.
“Being a recipient of the RBC Foundation Undergraduate Student Research Award has fueled my growth as a student and a researcher. This opportunity has expanded my knowledge and fostered skill development, enabling me to consider undertaking future masters research relating to food systems, equity, food security, and agricultural development.”
Conducting self-directed research this summer has been an amazing experience, she says. “I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to research a topic that I am so incredibly passionate about.”
EFFECTS OF SANCTIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fourth year honours political science student Nick Bremner of Digby, NS, who conducted research on the effects of sanctions on human rights in targeted countries that are authoritarian regimes, says the opportunity meant a lot to him as he could allot more time for his research this summer.
“This extra time greatly benefited the project, and it set me up for a less congested school year,” he says.
The purpose of his research is to determine what type of authoritarian regime exacerbates the negative effects of sanctions on human rights most. Most of the summer was dedicated to researching and compiling the relevant literature and data sets. He is supervised by Dr. Jamie Levin.
“This experience has given me the opportunity to spend the summer researching something in which I am very interested, and so it was a great way to spend the summer. This experience broadened my abilities to use certain software and develop problem-solving skills, which will surely help me in the future. One of the best parts of this experience was the opportunity to spend time in an office on campus doing research, rather than doing the research remotely. This helped a lot, as I was able to have a dedicated spot for work throughout the summer,” he says.
TESTING METHANE SENSORS
Gurkanwarpartap Singh Grewal, a fourth year earth and environmental sciences student from Patiala, Punjab, supervised by Dr. David Risk, worked at the StFX FluxLab where he tested the performance of methane sensors under different operating conditions.
Having accurate measurements of methane—a critical contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming—is important so that effective policy recommendations for action can be made.
“At FluxLab, we use these sensors to measure methane from landfills and oil and gas sites. I did laboratory testing of laser-based spectroscopic sensors for noise, drift, and temperature sensitivity. I found out that the performance of these sensors depends on temperature stability. If there are any sharp changes in the temperature of the environment where these sensors are being used, we can get data with high levels of noise. Now when we send these sensors to the field, we make sure that they are well insulated and are not exposed to unstable temperature conditions.”
The opportunity meant a lot to him, he says. “I got to do hands on work and expand my knowledge in my field. This opportunity increased my interest and motivation in earth and environmental sciences. One other benefit of this experience is that I got to develop my interpersonal skills.
“Due to being part of the FluxLab, I got opportunity to go on field trips and experience some beautiful places in Canada,” he says.
MAKING HIGH SCHOOL LITERARCY EDUCATION MORE INCLUSIVE, DIVERSE
Megan Farrell, a second year education student who grew up just outside Toronto, ON, worked alongside faculty supervisor Dr. Jennifer Mitton on a research project which investigated whether the changes made to high school literacy curricula across Canada meet the Calls to Action from the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report.
Her research has thus far included exploring educational scholars’ responses to the TRC, which looked mainly at non-archival paper-based resources, and an exploratory case study of literacy curricula documents in Grades 10-12 across the provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. She presented the findings of the case study at an educational conference (ERF) hosted by StFX, “which was an incredible experience.”
Ms. Farrell is currently working on a scoping literature review and intends to write an article throughout this school year based on her work. “I am beyond grateful to have had this experience to work on such relevant and impactful research and I hope that my work will aid in making high school literacy education in Canada more inclusive and diverse. A highlight of my research thus far was presenting at the ERF and sharing with attendees a list of resources that I have curated for educators to use in order to make their classrooms more inclusive.”
