Political Science at UWindsor

Schantal Hector

Schantal HectorSchantal Hector began her post-secondary education studying Forensic Science at the University of Windsor. However, after realizing that she had an interest in international politics and development issues, she decided to pursue a BA in International Relations and Development. The four years spent in Windsor's undergraduate IR program were challenging, but after graduating with Honours in 2010, Schantal knew that her academic career had only just begun, and in fall 2010 she began the MA program in Political Science at Windsor. It was in the MA program that she gained a deeper understanding of the struggles of developing communities and countries worldwide. Having spent an additional year gleaning from some of the finest (and coolest) political scholars in Canada, she was able to find her academic niche and focused her major research paper on remittances and the economic development of poor countries. Her paper, Remittance Use in China and Mexico: A Comparative Analysis And Some Lessons, combines tenets of Political Economy, Geography, Anthropology, and other fields of study, and is based in an interdisciplinary approach to economic development and the study of remittances. Based on the New Economics of Migration (NELM) theory, Schantal’s work examines how poor families use the money earned from labour migration to improve their livelihoods. Providing her the opportunity to carry out research on a growing new field of study within political economy and development studies, her research on remittance use underscores the richness of the Political Science program and its connections with other disciplines.

Schantal's knowledge of and background in International Relations and Political Science have given her a set of critical thinking and analysis skills that she has taken with her into the corporate world. Even before completion of her MA, she accepted the position of Project Researcher with the Chatham Kent Workforce Planning Board. As a researcher, her responsibilities include conducting primary labour market research with local stakeholders in the community and brainstorming and implementing strategies for labour market development in Chatham Kent. She also works closely with Chatham Kent’s Economic Development Services to create reports on labour market information (LMI) and economic development strategies for the region. Recently, Schantal assisted in the coordination of Chatham Kent’s first Career Fair, which brought together over fifty ‘ready to hire’ businesses and over five hundred potential employees.

In addition to working for the Chatham Kent Municipality, Schantal also puts her degrees to work by heading a grassroots organization called Won by One World Outreach which offers academic, financial and personal development for young people in developing countries. In summer 2012, she and her team visited Guyana for seven days and successfully launched a project called the Timothy Education Program (TEP). TEP is a five-year program designed to equip children in high school with the necessary tools to be successful individuals in their communities.