INTERN TESTIMONIALS

I feel extraordinarily privileged to have received financial remuneration for a self-directed project at this stage in my career. I don't think any other situation could've allowed me to learn and grow so much in the span of two months. I really felt a sense of respect from my coworkers for my personal skillset and expertise [and] I feel inspired to continue seeking out roles in the nonprofit sector that allow me to engage with social and environmental issues.

— Madelyn Capozzi

Studio 303

The Elspeth McConnell Award gave me value as the resourceful and dynamic worker and artist that I am. I am very proud of the soup kitchen that I coordinated. We truly had a great time and got such beautiful gratification sharing the meal. My skills improved, I was inspired to connect and I was given incredible experience and insight. I am so grateful for the experience and for all the beautiful people I met.

— Magali Casaubon

Museum of Jewish Montreal

Listening and gathering stories from Jewish Montreal families was an exceptional opportunity. To edit them and create an archive of them for their families to go back and listen to is truly incredible. I learned about diligence, tenacity, pain, loss, and immigration. I became a more adept historian and researcher, and I came to understand Jewish Montreal history and contemporary life.

— Lambert Gagné-Coulombe

Immigrant Workers' Centre CDN

The biggest success in this internship for me was to further acquaint myself with the Centre. We were collectively able to get a consistent weekly and bi-weekly art program running, with workshops for members and newcomers: a tremendous accomplishment that we hope to keep running! The experience of the internship truly enriched my life. It taught me the importance of humility, empathy, flexibility,  patience, and co-ownership of creative ideas and creations. This was an amazing opportunity to get involved with the community, and really take time to build meaningful and genuine connections.

— Arianna Garcia-Fialdini

GénieMob

I am perhaps most proud of my interactions with children and when I directly helped them to express themselves through creative technologies. On one occasion, after helping a young girl to debug her game program, she jumped up beaming and shouting, "I did it!" This same little girl had said upon my first asking that she "never built things," only "watched her brothers" do so.

— Rebecca Goodine

Heliosmakerspace

My PhD research on inclusivity initiatives for women and LGBTQ people and makerspaces is more grounded in invaluable real life experience and qualitatively informed because of this award. This internship has helped me put my values and ideas into practice, be accountable and become a better community organizer. I am truly grateful for the experience.

— Gia Greer

Rock Camp for Girls

My doubts as a female sound engineer were strong due to past experiences working in male dominated environments. I was constantly doubted in my abilities, continuously belittled, and experienced unnecessary sexual harassment. To be in such a supportive environment where my needs were met as an employee as well as a sound engineer was an amazing experience. My abilities were reaffirmed and my confidence grew, as I was trusted with tasks assigned to me immediately, rather than doubted and needlessly surveilled. I am an experienced and capable sound engineer.

— Aleksandra Kado

Je suis heureuse d’avoir pu développer des discussions sensibles avec les artistes soutenus. Pouvoir entendre et réfléchir avec eux sur les enjeux de la création. Approfondir la question de la réception d’un public avec une oeuvre en chantier. J’ai  eu la chance de participer à des rencontres d’équipe et comprendre le fonctionnement d’un organisme en constante évolution.

— Camille Lacalle-Wilsey

Les YMCAs du Québec

This award was an invaluable opportunity to lay my foundation as an independent art-educator, entrepreneur and artist. It bolstered by professionalism by placing me in a fertile environment where I could test my material with young people and develop working relationships with educated professionals. This project allowed me to move from the helpless position of a young student-artist with no marketable professional experience, into the role of a young professional who has the power, artistic authority and support behind them in order to make their dreams come true.

— Teagan O'Driscoll

Centre Philou 

Je suis également très fière d’avoir outrepassé ce sentiment d’inconfort qui m’habitait lors des premières heures de stage devant des enfants « différents » pour découvrir rapidement que les exigences et les conditions physiques de chacun pouvaient s’avérer une chance de découverte, un défi ou même l’opportunité de nouvelles formes de communications autres que par des mots ! J’ai appris à chercher la bonne clef d’accès pour chacun et contribuer à faire émerger cette étincelle et cette lumière qui habitent chacun de ces êtres.

— Catherine Sansafaçon Bolduc

Centre de répit Angelman, WIAIH

Je suis extrêmement fière de l'impact que j'ai eu sur la clientèle de mon stage cet été. J'ai reçu une reconnaissance de la part de l'équipe, mais aussi de la part des participants et cela vaut plus que tout. Je peux dire que des liens assez forts ce sont créée avec certains clients.

— Valérie Saulnier

Rock Camp for Girls

The Elspeth McConnell Fine Arts Award brought new vision and insight to my future, and showed me that I can handle the responsibility to curate large-scale events, be organized, timely, accountable, trustworthy and capable to organize workshops and compile influential material. I realized that my future is extremely bright and I have great potential to become an educator. I believe that I changed on a very deep level during this internship, that my eyes opened up to see what is possible in my own artistic ventures. I think that for myself, what changed the most was accepting and seeing the fullness of who I truly am as a powerful woman.

— Kayla Nicole Shears

Centre Clark

The Elspeth McConnell Fine Arts Award provided me with the opportunity to invest in myself. I met new people, and feel I can project myself in the Montreal art community when I finish my studies. It felt good to be given tasks as part of Clark's 30th anniversary celebration that made me responsible for the success of the event. As an artist and student in Fine Art, one of the things I found most interesting was to be able to look over proposals Centre Clark received for their programming, to review them on my own and to slowly start understanding the better and lesser ones based on my prior knowledge and my observational participation to the programming committee roundtables.

— Maxime St-Jean