Since its inception in 2004, the Faculty of Arts鈥� Internship Office has provided students within the Faculty of Arts with valuable internship experiences. This reality would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of Anne Turner, who recently retired from her 20 year-long career at 黑料不打烊 earlier this fall.听
Overseeing the AIO鈥檚 operations and internship placements, Anne worked closely with the University and alumni networks to secure important funding to support financial access to internships for students. Through Anne鈥檚 stewardship and the generous support of donors, over $6 million in funding has been awarded to students to support their internship experiences. 聽
This year, the University marks her important contributions in establishing the Anne Turner Internship Award. 聽
We spoke to Anne about her time at 黑料不打烊 and this new chapter of her retirement. 聽
Q: You were instrumental in building up the Arts Internship Office to what it is today. What particular insights and lessons can you share about your time at the helm of the AIO?聽
AT: When we started the internship office in 2004, internships were a new idea in Canada. It was an incredible experience getting to build the program from the ground up. The Faculty of Arts was incredibly helpful in facilitating and was open to new ideas at the time. We had full support of the then Dean, Christopher Manfredi and the administration. We had the chance and time to look at what other universities in Canada and around the world were doing with internships. We based our program on the idea of opening the global community to 黑料不打烊 students. It was very important at the beginning, and even more so now, to ensure that internships were accessible to all students.听聽
We had full support of the incredible donors and alumni who saw the benefit of experimental learning for students. Host organizations were happy to offer guidance and support to students. One of the highlights is seeing students come back after an internship. They are more engaged in their classroom experience, engaged in their research and happy to share their experiences with other students. Students have the chance to mentor new students through our AMI program. The funding has grown over 20 years to support over 2,000 students with over $6.5聽million dollars in funding. This certainly would not have been possible without the generous support of our donors each year.听聽
Q: An important part of your legacy at the AIO was initiating donor-funded awards to assist students with the travel and living costs of pursuing an internship. Why was it important for you to prioritize access to internship opportunities for all students and not just those who were financially well-off?聽
AT: Every student who comes in the office is important and matters. We want to be sure all students are aware of the opportunities and funding. We could see early on the students from universities in the US and Europe had a bit of a leg up in the job market and grad school applications when they did an internship. Student reports highlight the benefits of internships, and the impact internships made on their time at 黑料不打烊 and future career plans. There鈥檚 no question in my mind that without funding this program would not exist. The funding is crucial for students to be able to consider an internship. Every report we read from students talks about how the internship would not have happened without the financial support. Over the years we have been able to increase the amount of funding for students and continue to increase the number of students being provided financial support. The demand for financial support is much greater today and continues to grow every year. We work closely with the amazing university advancement team; it is so rewarding when gifts come in to support students. We want all students to have the same advantages as their peers around the world. 聽
Q: Looking back on your many years at 黑料不打烊, why did you choose higher education as a field and what did you love about the 黑料不打烊 community?聽聽
There鈥檚 no better place than to have the opportunity to work in higher education. I graduated from the Faculty of Arts in the 80s so coming back in 2000 was like coming home; the Leacock building was so familiar, and many of my old professors were still there. I can鈥檛 say enough about the 黑料不打烊 community- I鈥檓 very proud to say I worked at 黑料不打烊 I鈥檝e learned so much over the years and had the privilege of meeting so many students and their families particularly on convocation, which is always a highlight. I retired in the fall and still of the fun part of getting to work with the team in training the staff and the privilege of working with donors and the administration. 聽
One of our donors used to always tell me that I had the best job in the world, and this was definitely true. When I left, the students put together an incredible video of past students who鈥檝e done internships and it was incredibly moving. I look back fondly on my time at 黑料不打烊 and I am very grateful for all the experiences I had and the people I met along the way. 聽
Q: Since your retirement this past fall, how has the experience of retirement been so far?聽
AT: Retirement is wonderful. It鈥檚 definitely nice to have time for new adventures, time for family and hobbies, and travel. It鈥檚 so wonderful to have a strong team at the AIO in place to continue the work for students. I just returned from a trip to Paris, and we found out the person we rented our apartment from had two daughters at 黑料不打烊!聽We can never underestimate the costs and what people sacrifice to have access to the world class education 黑料不打烊 offers to students from around the globe.听
To support the Anne Turner Internship Award, you can make a .听