Testimonials

My role with I-CYS has been twofold. As a graduate assistant, I have received extraordinary professional development opportunities such as organizing the first ever I-CYS Symposium in 2017, directing and producing the I-CYS Podcast, and aiding in training of other graduate students through workshops and events. As a PhD student member, I have benefitted from the multidisciplinary conversations and mentorship that inform my own interdisciplinary scholarship. The connections established through I-CYS have been crucial for my academic career.

Victoria Holec

Working at I-CYS has provided me with a supportive and interdisciplinary community to talk about methods, theory, and literature pertaining to my current research project. Thanks to I-CYS I have made excellent friendships with a wide range of faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students who have provided me with a space to brainstorm ideas about my research, future goals, and grad school experiences.

Kaitlynn Weaver

Working at I-CYS has not just been a summer job for me, but an opportunity to learn from my seniors across their disciplines, build bonds with my peers and mentors, learn practical anthropological and technical skills, and hone team work skills. I most appreciated the opportunity to learn from our local Blackfoot community through the Raising Spirit project. Learning about Niitsitapi culture, traditions, and lands has been incredible; I will take this experience forward in future work as a treaty person, anthropologist, and scholar of religion

Jamie Lewis

I-CYS has provided me with a wonderful cohort who has been incredibly helpful and kind. The programming provided by the institute as also allowed me to meet visiting scholars from across Canada and the United States. I would highly recommend any incoming graduate students to connect with the institute!

Ashley Henrickson

My favorite aspect of I-CYS is the multidisciplinary focus of this institute. I thoroughly enjoy speaking about my project to members of different departments as this provides me the opportunity to talk about subjects such as “play” or “the juvenile period” from different respective fields.

Jonathan David Jarrett

My involvement with I-CYS allows me the opportunity to discuss the implementation of this mixed methodology and also to discuss my research questions with faculty from multiple disciplines. Receiving feedback and insight from multiple researchers, far more experienced than I, in a multi-disciplinary environment, helped me to refine my project. The I-CYS team encouraged me to expand my thinking on how I conceptualize children and childhood and because of them, I believe I have become a better academic.

Deanna Forrester

I always feel that I am blessed to work at I-CYS. I receive opportunities to hear thoughts on childhood issues as well as other social issues from different scholars of various disciplines. These perspectives immensely help me to broaden my views on social issues, in particular children. Being Bangladeshi I always feel that the friendly environment of the centre helps me to express my ideas without any hesitation in a new space. Their encouraging words build my confidence and their support immensely helps me to carry on my studies in Canada.

Shahina Parvin

My interest is in how preschool-aged children interact with their environment. Being part of the I-CYS community has been an important part of my Master’s experience. Interacting with scholars from a variety of disciplines has given me the opportunity to think about child studies from many perspectives. The I-CYS conferences, Mapping the Landscapes of Childhood I & II, have been a highlight for me, as well as Friendly Feedback sessions, where graduate students share their work. It’s hard to think of a better group of colleagues and mentors!

Anne Jones

I'm at the beginning of my MA in History researching child immigrants to Canada post-World War Two. My experience with the I-CYS community thus far has been extremely supportive and I look forward to participating in the various multi-disciplinary events that will further my own understanding of childhood.

Elaine Toth

I connected with the I-CYS community at the end of my Bachelor’s degree with the hopes that the multidisciplinary discussions would help facilitate deeper ways of thinking about and understanding young people. I found that not only was this the case, but the laid back environment coupled with constructive feedback makes it an excellent place for any student, regardless of what degree they are pursuing.

Dan Konecny