Hannah Tellier and Zack Ahmed were both recipients of the Alex Foto Memorial Award in 2019. The Award was established in Alex Foto's memory and provides fourth year International Development(INDEV) students with $1,000 toward the cost of their overseas field placements. Recipients are selected based on their commitment to the field of international development and humanitarianism.
Following their placements, the entire INDEV cohort were asked to share videos about their experiences as part of Capstone week. Hannah and Zack's Capstone placement videos are available for the entire St. Paul's community to enjoy.
Hannah: Boosting Broadcaster Capacity in Rural Senegal
Zack: Engaging the Youth in Tanzania
Plans for 2020/21 placements
Spring term and the summer months at St. Paul’s usually includes 4th year International Development (INDEV) students who are completing their in-class course work while they anxiously wait to hop on planes to far flung regions of the world like Nepal, Vietnam, and Senegal to complete eight-month field placements. Beginning their placements is a true milestone for students in this unique degree program.
This summer, the anxiety is different, because the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in so much uncertainty across the globe, with restrictions resulting in closed borders and international travel bans.
Nonetheless, INDEV students are adaptable and resilient. When discussing what plans are in place for field placements, John Abraham, continuing lecturer and manager of international work placements said that the University’s placement partners at World University Services Canada have been monitoring the pandemic week-to-week, and that “everyone is being supportive, flexible, and open to different options for student field placements”.
Safety for the students and the host communities is the number one priority but John says “everyone involved in making these decisions is committed to ensuring that good options will be available for our fourth-year students.”
John, other program faculty, and program partners have been preparing the students for how travelling to a new country may look very different than it once did. Physical distancing and other health-related restrictions may very well become the new normal. But like so many other resilient and action focused members of the St. Paul's community, INDEV students will be ready to take on the post-pandemic world and embrace new challenges knowing that they have a strong skill set developed in the classroom and in the field.
