Windsor Law student Nicole Canzoneri participated in a social justice fellowship as part of her dual law and social work degree (FILE/University of Windsor)
By Kate Hargreaves
Nicole Canzoneri didn’t enrol in Windsor Law just to become a lawyer.
“I am in law school to develop the tools to make the social change I always dreamed of,” she says.
This summer, the student in Windsor Law's Master of Social Work/ Juris Doctor (MSW/JD) program put that ambition into practice through a fellowship with the human rights organization Amnesty International.
The opportunity to participate in Windsor Law's Social Justice Fellowship program was a major factor in Canzoneri's decision to study at the University of Windsor.
“When I realized I had the potential to work with Amnesty International, an organization I highly respect, I knew I had to take that opportunity,” Canzoneri recalls.
As a first-generation law student, Canzoneri credits the professors who helped her navigate law school and pursue opportunities in the field.
Among them was Irina Ceric, who connected her with Mary Kapron, Amnesty International's researcher and adviser for the United States and Canada.
Through the fellowship, Canzoneri worked with Gitanyow land defenders in British Columbia to support their efforts to challenge resource extraction legislation.
Her fellowship also took her to Mexico City, where she contributed to an Amnesty International report calling for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
It was her first visit to the city, and she didn't speak Spanish.
“Before my time, they had interviewed people who experienced the horrors of the ICE raids and bravely shared their testimonies to make it known to the world,” Canzoneri explains.
Canzoneri reviewed more than 100 interviews, coding the accounts by theme to help identify patterns in the experiences shared.
“Coding this data was hard as it was tedious but also horrific,” she recalls.
“I was taught a balance of self-care and hard work when dealing with such traumatic stories.”
The experience also reinforced the value of her social work education.
Canzoneri drew on those skills to approach the research from a broader perspective while learning to balance the emotional demands of human rights advocacy with self-care. She credits her supervisors at Amnesty International with helping her develop those skills.
The fellowship also strengthened Canzoneri's confidence in pursuing a non-traditional legal career.
“Law culture is often intimidating when you dream of a non-traditional path or don’t feel you fit in as a law student,” she says.
“Working with my team this summer demonstrated to me that I can be expressive, passionate, political and non-traditional while still deserving respect and space in the legal profession.”
Canzoneri encourages other Windsor Law students interested in social justice to consider applying for the fellowship.
“I not only got new connections and mentors, but friends,” she says of her work with Amnesty.
“I’m continuing volunteering with them and am staying connected about future employment opportunities. Not only is this an amazing professional experience but also helped clarify if I wanted to pursue social justice law in the future.”
“I have a reinvigorated passion for doing everything I can to pursue the life I want to live,” she adds. “And I got to have a trial-run this summer thanks to Windsor Law.”
Canzoneri encourages readers to explore the Amnesty International report and its accompanying petition calling for the abolition of ICE.
Learn more about Windsor Law's Social Justice Fellowship program on the Windsor Law website.