Q&A: Summer with the research team

Aya Mahadi (left) and Ashley Idahosa (right) left a valuable impact on CSSH during their internships

This summer, the Office of Research in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) had the pleasure of employing two student interns from our university. Aya Mahadi joined us as part of the Black Youth for Social Innovation program, and Ashley Idahosa joined us from Arts Work Experience.

We had the chance to catch up with the two undergrads and ask them some questions about their experience. Read on to find out about what projects they worked on, what they learned, and what nuggets of wisdom they plan to take into their future academic and professional careers.

What projects did you work on with the Office of Research this summer?

Aya: This summer, I worked on a Student Engagement Strategy for the CSSH Office of Research focused on making the college’s research and community expertise more accessible and engaging for students across campus. As part of the project, I researched how students currently learn about research-based opportunities, as well as developed recommendations for how the college could reach students more effectively. 

Ashley: This summer I had the opportunity to work on several projects throughout my internship, the most rewarding of which included a social innovation research project examining the university's potential to invest in its own researchers as a source of solutions to pressing societal issues like houselessness, a major database initiative tracking research across the faculties organized around 13 broad themes intended to foster collaboration and address grand challenges, and an unexpected but deeply meaningful project updating a 60-year-old mathematics poster that had featured only male mathematicians, for which I conducted original research to identify overlooked women mathematicians throughout history and created a companion piece, ensuring their stories are finally told.

What did this internship teach you?

Aya: This experience taught me the importance of being adaptable in research! I began the summer with a research plan that I was very excited about, but as I engaged deeper with my project, I realized that refining and adapting my methodology would allow me to better address the questions I was interested in exploring. Having to adjust my approach was definitely intimidating, but it was a valuable reminder that research is a truly iterative process; being willing to reassess will ultimately lead to a stronger outcome.  

Ashley: When I began my internship, I had a set of learning objectives I wanted to fulfill, and in all honesty, I was unsure of whether I would be able to achieve them. These were things I had struggled with for a long time, and putting them on paper felt more aspirational than attainable. What surprised me was not just that my internship helped me work toward them, but that the opportunities it opened up, stepping into roles and spaces I had not anticipated, accelerated that growth in ways I did not expect. I learned to give myself more grace when I make mistakes, pausing to identify the lesson rather than spiralling, and I made peace with inconsistency, realizing that productivity does not always look the same. Perhaps most personally, as a Black woman who has long internalized a sense of being an underachiever despite evidence to the contrary, I found tangible proof that I could figure things out, deliver meaningful work, and hold my own in professional spaces. Seeing the poster printed, watching the database take shape, and sitting across from researchers whose work I deeply respect all quietly but steadily reinforced that I am doing enough, and that I belong in these rooms.

Did you learn anything about the college that you didn't know before going into this internship?

Aya: It was definitely interesting to see how much happens institutionally that I simply never saw as a student. This experience gave me a deep appreciation for the expertise within CSSH and the U of A, and for the work being done across so many disciplines. Most importantly, though, this experience showed me that these large institutions are ultimately made up of everyday people, who are incredibly kind, passionate about their work, and truly invested in helping students succeed. That was probably one of the most meaningful things I’ve learned this summer.

Ashley: I learned a great deal about the college during my time here. Coming in with little prior knowledge of how the university operates at an institutional level, it was a fulfilling experience to discover just how many layers and moving parts come together to make the University of Alberta function, and how much time and care the staff dedicate to making it all work. The lessons I learned under Oliver Rossier's supervision were plentiful, but one of the most valuable was learning to navigate these systems, recognize where support is needed, and find opportunities to contribute meaningfully while continuing to grow.

What lessons from working with the college as an intern will you take into your future academic and professional careers?

Aya: One of the biggest lessons I will take with me is to be more comfortable asking big questions and asking for help in answering them. Many things that seemed simple to me as a student turned out to be much more complex institutionally, and many things that initially seemed intimidating were often much more approachable once I had actually asked. Ultimately, the people I worked with were some of the best mentors I’ve ever had, and I hope to pay that forward by creating those same opportunities for others throughout my career! 

Ashley: The lessons I took from this internship are ones I expect to carry into my final year and well beyond. Working on projects with the Office of Research taught me that the skills I had been developing in the classroom are not theoretical. They translate to the workplace, and regardless of where you are in your career, they are ready to be used. This experience also gave me a clearer sense of direction, as I came in curious about research and community-engaged work and left with a much sharper understanding of how those interests connect to real institutional and policy change. Aligning research and university resources for community impact and seeing how my own contributions fit into something larger have all reinforced my graduate and career goals. Perhaps most importantly, I leave with a stronger sense of self, because learning to give myself grace, to trust my contributions, and to hold my own in professional spaces were not small lessons but the foundation everything else was built on. As I head into my final year, I carry that foundation with me alongside a network of researchers I admire, a clear vision of what I want to pursue, and the quiet but steady confidence that I belong in these rooms.