{"id":108470,"date":"2026-03-17T12:57:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T16:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=108470"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:25:39","slug":"horizon-scholars-transform-lived-experience-into-impactful-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/03\/horizon-scholars-transform-lived-experience-into-impactful-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Horizon Scholars transform lived experience into impactful research"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This is one in a series of articles on Brock\u2019s 2025-26 Horizon Graduate Student Scholarship recipients. Read other stories in the series on\u00a0<\/em>The Brock News<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rawan El Haj and Aayushi Gandhi are determined to shape systems that shape the lives of children and youth \u2014 particularly those navigating displacement, inequality and deficit-based labelling.<\/p>\n

Both Child and Youth Studies PhD students at Brock University, the Horizon Graduate Student Scholarship<\/a> recipients are using their research to centre lived experience and spark meaningful change in policy and practice.<\/p>\n

For El Haj, pursuing a PhD is deeply personal.<\/p>\n

An international student from Lebanon and a Palestinian refugee, she says her academic journey has been shaped by displacement, loss and resilience.<\/p>\n

After completing undergraduate and master\u2019s studies in pharmacy, she worked in the humanitarian sector with children and youth affected by crises and displacement. That experience broadened her understanding of justice and equity and ultimately led her to doctoral research.<\/p>\n

Her work focuses on newcomer children and youth in Canada, examining how access to health care influences social inclusion, belonging, educational outcomes and psychosocial well-being over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to focus on the voices of these children,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Using a trauma-informed approach, she aims to identify structural barriers affecting newcomer families and influence refugee child policy at both the national and international levels, ensuring that health-care access and integration frameworks align with what children and youth say they need.<\/p>\n

El Haj says receiving the Horizon Scholarship has helped her balance academic work and caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an international student and as a mother, financial constraints limit so much time and focus,\u201d she says. \u201cThis scholarship provided stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond financial support, she says the award reinforced the value of diverse lived experiences in shaping impactful research and strengthened her sense of institutional support.<\/p>\n

Like El Haj, Gandhi is also focused on shifting dominant narratives.<\/p>\n

Her research examines how perceptions of children and youth labelled \u201cat risk\u201d in policy and school settings can shape the supports they receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat often happens is that the label becomes the loudest thing about them,\u201d she says. \u201cInstead of asking what\u2019s wrong with them, we should ask what happened to them or what\u2019s happening around them.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a background in school counselling and clinical settings, Gandhi became interested in what she describes as a gap between policy intentions and lived realities after observing \u00a0how quickly young people could be reduced to labels, such as \u201cnon-compliant\u201d or \u201caggressive,\u201d that can follow them across settings.<\/p>\n

Her doctoral research uses qualitative analysis to explore how risk is understood in policy and practice and to identify strength-based alternatives that centre children\u2019s agency and resilience.<\/p>\n

Gandhi says support from her supervisor and family \u2014 including her husband, child and extended family members who assist with caregiving \u2014 has been foundational throughout her academic journey.<\/p>\n

The Horizon Scholarship has helped her invest directly in research tools, conference participation and resources that strengthen both the rigour and reach of her work. It has also allowed her to think intentionally about how she can give back to the schools and communities involved in her research.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to just take something from a community for my project,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to give something back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rawan El Haj and Aayushi Gandhi are determined to shape systems that shape the lives of children and youth \u2014 particularly those navigating displacement, inequality and deficit-based labelling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":108475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[188,55,1,38],"tags":[15069,45,7807,12849,522,3335,3330,9928,10037,1874,15068],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108470"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108477,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108470\/revisions\/108477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}