Future leaders of Peterborough will benefit from new diversity-focused workshops thanks to a community-based research project with the City of Peterborough. 

Serena Karevich, a fourth-year Champlain College student studying International Development Studies, completed a community-based research project with the City of Peterborough. Working with the diversity, equity and inclusion officer, Serena contributed to the Faces of Leadership project, which aims to inform new forms of leadership within marginalized communities, specifically women and gender-diverse individuals. Serena's experience helped her to build relationships in Peterborough and cultivate skills that will influence her future education. 

As part of her community-based research project with the City, Serena helped coordinate focus groups comprising workers from the charitable sector, those who had experienced leadership in the Peterborough community, and elected officials. 

"The International Development Program here at Trent is full of great professors and people who are really knowledgeable in their field and very passionate," she said. "I've learned so much from my professors and so much from the community that I've made here at Trent, and I've genuinely experienced things that I don't believe I would experience at larger universities."  

Serena's project demonstrates the potential for community-based research to benefit both students and local organizations and highlights the value of smaller universities for meaningful engagement with the community. 

Learn more about community-based research at Trent.