Zeynep Yilmaz (She/Her/Hers)
Tell us about yourself:
I am a third year Political Science student at McMaster University, specializing in Public Law and Judicial Studies. I am very interested in human rights in cyberspace and the means of knowledge mobilization. I received art education from the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in England, as well as my schools in Malaysia, Ghana, and Nigeria. I am uncertain about the line of work I will take up, but I know I want to incorporate the arts into it.
Apart from the academic stuff, I love discovering bits and pieces around Hamilton and asking around about their story. Volunteering in various art spaces and meeting people has been a major reason for why I call this city “my home”. CityLAB allowed me to lean into this passion and made me think of ways I can further it. My personal project (final assignment) also revolved around this idea and my instructors gave helpful directions, which I will continue working on.
How is your project going so far?
The highlight of my CityLAB experience leads back to a specific moment. We had just been placed in our groups and I ended up in the transitional housing group, focusing on precarious to stable housing. We were getting started on our first group assignment around the directions we plan to take with our project. I distinctly remember listening closely and being surprised by how we all had a different reaction to the same question. All my groupmates drew on their unique experiences and programs: his work at the Hub, her health sciences classes, his upcoming exam on electrical resistance and her dedication for accessibility in the education system. That was one rollercoaster of a conversation (positive connotation), which I was not accustomed to in the constraining echo chamber of my program.
I am grateful that the interdisciplinary nature of CityLAB at crossroads with its focus on Hamilton led me to such people: all with their own passions rooted in their own reasons.