Christabell Creighton is plotting a new course for her career in law thanks to a recent hands-on learning opportunity.

The fourth-year Political Science and Labour Studies student and her POLI 4P95 classmates shared the impact of their internship experiences during a public event held April 14 in Cairns Atrium.

The semester-long placements allowed students to work five to 10 hours per week at local government offices, law firms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research organizations and a newspaper.

Creighton’s time at Oddi Law, a law office in her hometown of Brantford, cemented her plans to pursue a career in the field but opened her eyes to new opportunities.

“I was able to get insight on the day-to-day functions of a lawyer and deputy judge and see how my supervisor manages these responsibilities,” she says. “Shadowing him in his capacities as a deputy judge and seeing him offer his services for settlement cases has inspired me to perhaps look into becoming a judge in the future, which is not something I had been considering before.”

As an intern, fourth-year Political Science and Labour Studies student Christabell Creighton researched and wrote case briefs, met with clients and attended small claims court as an observer.

Creighton says the placement helped her clarify her own goals and gave her invaluable insight into the nuances of practicing law in the city she hopes to settle.

“I felt this pressure to rush into law school, but my supervisor helped me understand that I do not need to rush and doing a master’s will only help me in the long run because I will have a background in the type of law I want to do,” she says. “He completed his master’s before law school and has not regretted it, so he gave me the confidence to decide to defer law school for a year.”

Now, Creighton plans to complete a certificate program in mediation that was recommended by her supervisor before beginning a master’s degree in Immigration and Settlement Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University in September.

Associate Professor Nicole Goodman says the experiences gained by students like Creighton, and the contributions they make to community partners, are hallmarks of the fourth-year internship.

“We’ve grown a roster of placement organizations both within and outside the St. Catharines community based on student interests and career aspirations,” she says.

Goodman points to the example of three students who were placed in the offices of local Members of Provincial Parliament Wayne Gates and Jeff Burch — and had a front-row seat when a snap election was called in February, shortly after they began their placements.

“The snap election created opportunities for learning about the vagaries of politics and the unpredictable life of elected representatives — the students were quick to adapt and make the most of the situation,” says Goodman. “Overall, across students and placements, the course provides a wonderful stepping stone for after graduation.”

Fourth-year Political Science major Valentina Guerra Pinilla says she was keen to learn more about non-governmental international relations and disarmament work as a Research Assistant Intern at Mines Action Canada.

“I wanted to see what the advocacy side of things looks like and learn about the skills you need in different areas, how to highlight the human need behind these issues in addition to government’s fact-based approach,” she says. “It’s helpful to have both perspectives — fact-based information and legality is important, but it’s also always important to keep human dignity at the centre and core of these issues.”

During her internship, she researched and drafted a weapons systems brief on different types of indiscriminate weapons, updated the organization’s disarmament survey for federal parties ahead of the 2025 federal election and wrote for its blog.

Pinilla, who worked for the International Relations Team at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission last summer, says she’ll carry her experiences into her graduate studies at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs next year. She plans to continue research on disarmament and study how Canada might once again be a leader.

“Throughout my undergraduate studies and now going forward, I always ask in my research: what can Canada do next? How can Canada be that voice in the room that’s pushing for change?” she says.