Emily Cantwell

Emily Cantwell is currently an English Language Assistant in Valence, France. Emily graduated in 2018 with Departmental Honors in International Relations, Departmental Honors in French, and Summa Cum Laude from the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. During her time at UT, her interests included water security, women’s rights, and refugee rights. Emily researched climate change aid as part of the Complex Emergencies and Political Stability in Asia initiative through the Strauss Center and Innovations for Peace and Development. In addition, she worked with the Clark Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies, helping to research the political salience of the High Court of Australia. Emily previously worked as the Refugee Cash Assistance intern at Refugee Services of Texas. She was an active member of the UT chapter of Amnesty International and served as Urgent Action Coordinator during the Spring 2017 semester.

How has your experience with the Rapoport Center impacted you?

"Interning at the Rapoport Center helped me realize that I want to study law in the future. The experience exposed me to the types of research and outreach that a human rights center can accomplish. For example, while working on the Annual Review, I had the opportunity to learn more about the Center’s expansive work on inequality as a human rights issue.

Even as an undergraduate intern, I felt valued at the Rapoport Center. The weekly meetings with Dan, Karen, Sarah, and the team gave me insight into both the administrative side of running a successful human rights center as well as the research side of the Rapoport.

In the end, I had a wonderful time working as part of a larger team, and feel grateful for the opportunities that the Rapoport Center gave me."