Julianna Kantner researches volunteer empowerment in refugee resettlement

Author: Julianna Kantner | Majors: International & Global Studies and Political Science

After spending a year interning with the volunteer coordinator at Canopy Northwest Arkansas refugee resettlement agency, I was inspired by the significant impact local volunteers had on the growth and success of the organization. Meanwhile, I noticed many volunteers I worked alongside were uncomfortable or nervous about the idea of advocacy. Often this nervousness stemmed from a lack of knowledge regarding the details of refugee resettlement and how the process worked. At the same time, I saw other barriers to diverse volunteer involvement. Some of these barriers included activities hosted during work hours or the vast responsibility that came with some of the volunteer opportunities. This motivated me to investigate the strategies that could be employed by refugee support organizations to diversify and empower volunteer involvement and advocacy. Thankfully my mentor, Dr. Phillips, has always encouraged collaboration with Canopy NWA and was eager to guide me throughout this project.

In an effort to discover how volunteer bases can become more diverse and empowered for advocacy, I developed a project to analyze the efficacy of a specific volunteer preparation model: the Students with Refugees Advocacy Training Program.  This model aims to include volunteers in the organizational mission while also empowering volunteers to envision original forms of refugee support. Through participant feedback, I hope to understand if this model is effective. Meanwhile, I spent the semester developing a further relationship with Canopy, connecting with volunteers and employees who could be interviewed about their experiences with volunteerism. I also connected with volunteer coordinators at refugee resettlement agencies across the country who can provide further insight.

As I began to organize the frameworks for my research, I faced a number of challenges. While I sought approval for my interview and survey materials, I built the curriculum for a spring advocacy training program. I learned of the advertisement necessary to reach potential participants and the organization necessary to oversee a program for over 20 people. As I host this program again next semester, planning to survey the experience of participants, I am thankful that I spent this semester learning what it takes to make the program a success. Additionally, I spent another semester interning at Canopy and saw just how busy each member of the resettlement staff is. I learned that working closely with Canopy allowed me to build the relationships necessary to conduct interviews. Through these interviews, I hope to learn more about organizational structures utilized for managing volunteers currently.

Conducting research that relies upon student passion for refugee resettlement certainly requires support from others. I am incredibly grateful for the passion held by every member of the leadership team for Students with Refugees and their eagerness to help with the Advocacy Training Program. The encouragement of these student leaders will be essential as we approach next semester and host another session of the program. I am looking forward to this summer and next semester when I will have the opportunity to interview the professionals and volunteers working in refugee resettlement, survey participants in the second semester of the SWR Advocacy Training Program, and understand what strategies empower volunteers to advocate for refugee resettlement within their own networks. I hope to present my research to Canopy NWA and provide helpful conclusions that will allow them to empower their volunteers to conduct advocacy and diversify their volunteer base.