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Pathways of Change 2016 Students

Summer of 2016, a group of undergraduates had the chance to participate in mentored summer internships with partner organizations in the field of business and human rights. These organizations adopt distinct strategies for effecting change and promoting corporate accountability. The list of possible partners included:

In addition to working with the partner organizations, the students conducted profiles of the people in their organizations and wrote “letters home” about the best way to effect change in corporate human rights practices.  Each internship came with a $5,000 dollar stipend.

2016 Participants:

Michelle Khalid, placed with Corporate Accountability International, is a rising senior from Clermont, Florida. She is majoring in Political Science and International Comparative Studies. She participated in the Duke Immerse: Uprooted/Rerouted program freshman year and has since been involved in the Displacement, Resettlement, and Mental Health Bass Connections team. She helps co-direct the SuWA program and spends her Saturdays volunteering with the Community Empowerment Fund.

Sydney Smith, placed with Corporate Accountability International, is a sophomore pursing a major in Public Policy and a minor in Environmental Science and Policy. She is passionate about environmental justice, sustainability and preservation of regional and local ecosystems. At Duke, Sydney is a staff writer and associate editor for Duke Political Review and a member of Duke’s Climate Coalition.

Maura Smyles, placed with Foley Hoag, is a rising junior pursuing a degree in Public Policy and a certificate in Child Policy Research. She is passionate about policy reforms that would improve the wellbeing of marginalized youth populations, specifically focusing on migration and education policies. As co-founder and editor of inFlux: A Weekly Dispatch on Global Displacement, she seeks to spread awareness about issues facing refugee and immigrant communities around the world.

Sydney Speizman, placed with Accountability Counsel, is a junior majoring in Public Policy with a minor in Cultural Anthropology.  Since the beginning of her college career, she has sought out international learning opportunities and spent the summer after freshman year in Accra studying Ghanaian culture and society. Last fall, she traveled to Brazil, South Africa, and India to explore how urban development impacts human rights, sustainability, and social justice.

Jack Stanovsek, placed with Praxis, is a graduating senior pursuing a degree in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies with an Arabic concentration and minors in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. His studies focus on the historiography of the recent Arab Spring uprisings and the political, cultural and sociological impacts these demonstrations created across the Middle East and North Africa. At the beginning of 2017, he will attend Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, Australia where he will pursue a Juris Doctor.

Frank Jiang, placed with BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), is an Honorary Pathways of Change member and rising senior pursuing a double major in Economics and Political Science. As a Robertson Scholar based at UNC, he serves as Undergraduate Student Attorney General, and he has also previously interned with a management consultancy. He’s excited to combine those interests in investigation and advisory services at BSR, where his work will revolve around both conducting human rights impact assessments and developing sustainable corporate strategies moving forward.