Philosophers do Internships

Where and when did you do your internship and what did you do as an intern?

I was a 2024–2025 Public Humanities Fellow at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH). Since 2021, CIH has partnered with community organizations and annually selected three to four post-candidacy doctoral students in the Humanities to complete a 12-week, organization-defined placement. The program aims to give PhD students experience in non-academic settings while demonstrating to community organizations how Humanities graduates can contribute meaningfully through their specialized training and skills.

The fellowship spanned two semesters: in Winter 2025, I participated in a Public Humanities seminar at CIH, and in Spring 2025, I completed my internship at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) under the project title “Representation and Cultural Responsiveness.”

At CCIS, I worked on several initiatives. I contributed to the Newcomer Research Library by developing content on “Data Equity and Newcomers in Canada” and “Vaccines and Newcomers to Canada.” I also supported a project to strengthen the organization’s internal capacity for LGBTQ+ awareness, implemented in partnership with the Centre for Sexuality. As part of this work, I conducted a literature review on designing brief but effective workshops and contributed to evaluating the jointly developed train-the-trainer program.

My primary project, however, was designing a lesson plan for a Language Instruction for the Newcomers to Canada (LINC) course on LGBTQ+ awareness. I developed themes, sample activities, and teacher resources for the module, including pedagogical guidance, cultural sensitivity notes, practical teaching strategies, and supporting background materials.

How did you find out about or generate the opportunity to do the internship?

I learned about the fellowship through our Graduate Director, who circulated the call for applications. I was already familiar with CIH and interested in public humanities, particularly in finding concrete ways to bring philosophy into public life. Additionally, the placement at CCIS aligned well with my interests in culture, bias, immigration, and social justice.

I viewed the internship as an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a non-academic setting and to explore how humanities scholarship can contribute to community work. The application process included a written application and an interview with CIH. After that, I had a second interview with my mentor at CCIS to discuss the organization’s needs and how my skills could contribute to the project.

Did you find that doing the internship was useful? What did you get out of it?

Yes, I found the experience very helpful and valuable. The CIH fellowship in Winter 2025 provided a great opportunity to explore different approaches to public humanities and community-engaged scholarship.

In addition, the internship at CCIS gave me the opportunity to connect humanities scholarship with practice. I was able to pursue my social justice interests in real-world contexts and identify concrete ways to translate my academic commitments into action. It also helped me think more carefully about both the potential and the limits of community-engaged work.

The experience also contributed to my personal and professional growth. I collaborated with professionals from different fields, including public health and social work, and gained a clearer sense of how academic skills, such as research, writing, teaching, and presenting, can be applied outside academia. I strengthened my ability to communicate ideas in accessible language and adapted to a more team-oriented, faster-paced work environment, which I think improved my planning and collaboration skills.

Did you get paid? How much and by whom?

Yes. The internship was funded jointly by the Calgary Institute for the Humanities and the Transformative Talent Internship Program. The total compensation was approximately $10,000. A portion was provided directly by CIH, and the remaining amount was funded through awards associated with the Transformative Talent Internship (TTI) Program at UCalgary.

What should a grad student interested in doing an internship know that you wish someone had told you before you applied or did it?

That is a hard question! Each internship depends on the organization, the project, and the student’s interests, and it's difficult to offer universal advice. But I think one important point is to be ready and open to adapting to a different professional culture.

In humanities graduate programs, we often work independently, at a particular academic pace, and with a strong emphasis on precision and high standards of quality. Community organizations tend to operate differently. The work is usually more collaborative, shaped by internal dynamics, and guided by practical priorities, often at a faster pace. Adjusting to this environment requires flexibility and intentional effort, but it can also be one of the most valuable aspects of the experience.