Alumni Spotlight Series: Tanisha Palmer, 2020
Tanisha is an alumna of the 2020 Semester in Residence cohort. She is now attending Wilfrid Laurier University as a Masters of Arts Candidate in Social Justice and Community Engagement. Read more about Tanisha’s path and how her CityLAB experience helped align her interests and long-term goals.
Tell us about your studies at McMaster and how you were involved with CityLAB?
In the Faculty of Social Sciences, I studied Health and Society at McMaster University and graduated in 2021. While in my fourth and final year of studies I applied to the CityLAB Semester in Residence (SIR), which I can confidently say was the highlight of my academic career at McMaster. While participating in SIR I worked on the ‘Complete Streets Intersection Makeover Project’. As part of an interdisciplinary team of three other undergraduate students, City staff and Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson, this project aimed to address barriers in current traffic infrastructure, using complete street design. Through engaging with Ward 1 residents, and community stakeholders we identified potential intersections deemed fit for a ‘makeover’ and what design features residents felt passionate about seeing in their community. After hosting a community event, we created a document of recommendations for City staff to serve in tandem with the Transportation Master Plan and other City documents.
What are you up to now?
Post-graduation I have continued my studies at Wilfrid Laurier University as a Masters of Arts Candidate in Social Justice and Community Engagement. Without a doubt participating in CityLAB SIR guided me to graduate studies within this field. CityLAB pushed me to think about how I would be able to engage in a career that addressed the most prevalent issues my own community was facing. Spending a semester critically thinking about what makes a community healthy, livable, and safe and how to take part in challenging conversations surrounding what that means for all residents allowed me to gain a deeper insight into what community engagement and support looks like on a municipal level. The experience allowed me to hear from multiple perspectives, and individuals who held different positions in the decision-making process, which inspired my own career aspirations. The SIR allowed me to think about how I can challenge the structures creating inequities in our communities, and how to engage with individuals who are more often than not left out of the conversations but most impacted by their outcomes.
Do you have any long term goals that have been positively impacted by your time in SIR?
The instructors and City partners involved with the SIR not only care deeply about the real consequences of program outcomes, but the students they’re working with and our own aspirations and goals. Stepping into the program I had no experience in many of the avenues I would explore - such as transportation planning or design thinking, but the instructors guided us all in a way that was challenging and supportive all at once. Not only did my CityLAB experience allow me to connect my own interests and skills to long-term career goals, but it was also an active part of allowing me to achieve such goals. From having the SIR experience as a unique part of my academic career to highlight in letters of interest, to instructors writing letters of recommendations, I have since achieved professional and personal goals thanks to the relationships I was able to build in this program
Any words of advice for students thinking about applying for SIR?
I would encourage anyone considering participating in SIR to apply! If you are wanting to critically think about the everyday challenges the Hamilton community is facing and how to engage with multiple stakeholders to address such issues, CityLAB is the place for you! You will be surrounded by a community like no other, learning from the instructors, guest speakers and your classmates; the interdisciplinary environment strengthens the overall achievements of the program. You never know what you might learn about your own goals and passions and undoubtedly I think everyone walks away from the program with an experience they’ll never forget!