Hanna Williams
I joined the Master of Arts program in the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) right after finishing my Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management (BPAPM) at Carleton. I was grateful for the chance to continue my studies at Carleton because I knew the Faculty of Public Affairs (FPA) was among the best, particularly in my specialization of economic policy. It also meant that I could continue to build on research I had started in my undergrad through the Carleton University Research Opportunity Program.
I was right on both accounts. I’ve had such amazing experiences with professors at NPSIA who are all so passionate about their fields of study, but are also really keen to make sure their students get the professional skills they need for a career in policy. And although there is nothing quite like a really good discussion from an in-person seminar, professors worked really hard to adjust their courses to an online setting.
I was also able to build on my research and turn it into an academic paper, Developing a novel index to evaluate labour chapters in trade agreements: Canada’s ambition—enforceability compromise, that was published in May 2021 in the Journal of International Trade Law and Policy. This was a very rewarding experience. I am very grateful to Professor Meredith Lilly for being an excellent co-author and mentor during this whole process.
My time at NPSIA also came with experiences I hadn’t even considered. I was able to present my research at the FPA Emerging Perspectives graduate conference in 2020 and gain work experience at multiple government agencies through the co-op program.
One of my favourite memories was the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica to take part in the Centre for Trade Policy and Law’s one-week course in Trade Negotiation Skills. We were able to work alongside Costa Rican students in a realistic simulation of a prospective modernization of the Canada-Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement (CCRFTA). Not only were we able to gain practical skills that I can apply to my professional work, but I was able to travel to a beautiful country right before the pandemic in 2020!
NPSIA offers so many opportunities. There were many I was not able to take advantage of, but what I was able to do made for an incredibly rich two years of study. Since finishing my degree, I’ve joined the Department of Finance Canada as a Junior Policy Analyst through their university recruitment process. I’m looking forward to putting into practice all that I’ve learned at NPSIA and Carleton.
Friday, June 18, 2021 in 2021 Graduation, Convocation, FPA Voices, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Students
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