Earlier this year Denis Mingallon, a PhD alum and a lecturer of French, sat down with two students of French to talk about their experiences as interns in the Canadian government in Ottawa. Megan Edelman, a Communications major who has taken French language courses, and Leia Gertz, an International Studies major with minors in French and Human Rights, both had the unique opportunity to experience a foreign country and a foreign government from the inside.
Edelman and Gertz spent five weeks at their internship sites as part of the Canadian Parliament Internship. They were part of a group of 40 interns. Although the interns lived together in dormitories of the University of Ottawa and shared their experiences daily, they were all placed in different offices. Gertz worked in a French-speaking office with the liberal party, the current majority party. Edelman was in an English-speaking office that served a different, more conservative party. “It was very interesting to see that other parties push the majority party to keep their promises,” says Edelman.
The tasks they were assigned varied from day to day. Often they completed typical office work and served as assistants. However, they also got to participate in some bigger projects. Edelman, who enjoys writing, particularly enjoyed working on her office’s newsletter, postcards, and press releases. “It was very cool to write things that would be sent out to a vast audience, and things that were politically relevant,” she says. Gertz had the opportunity to participate on a national campaign that aimed to improve rural connectivity through information and communications technology. Gertz plans to have a career in Foreign Services, so this experience was a big step towards her career goals.
In addition to the daily work, the interns had to chance to participate in things that they would never be able to do outside of this internship. The U.S. ambassador to Canada invited them to her residence; they witnessed the meeting of Justin Trudeau and France’s president Emmanuel Macron before the G7 summit; and they were able to speak to important political figures from all over the country and the world. “Justin Trudeau welcomes seflies,” says Edelman laughing. They also found it valuable to see how the culture and politics of the U.S. are viewed from another country.
The opportunity to live and work abroad proved both wonderful and eye-opening. Both Edelman and Gertz felt thankful for their French education, because it had prepared them to experience new places with an open mindset. “It can be difficult to understand and explain to others the differences between cultures, but after leaning another language it makes more sense,” says Gertz. Edelman agrees with this, “Learning about another culture definitely prepares you to have an open mind,” she says.
Edelman and Gertz also had the opportunity to travel though Canada and to learn something new about themselves. Edelman was pleased to learn that she felt comfortable traveling on her own and driving all the way to Canada by herself. She found the language barrier intimidating, but got through it, and discovered that this barrier would not deter her from traveling and seeing the world. Gertz found significance in the connections she made. “We should be genuine and learn from each other,” she says, “we can become better people through forming connections.”
We extend a big thank you to Denis Mingallon, Megan Edelman, and Leia Gertz for sharing this experience with us!
