Q & A with Arden, Future Summer Intern

Name: Arden Bodnar

School: University of Alberta

Year: Junior

Major: Political Science and English

Born: Canada

What are you looking forward to this summer?

I am looking forward to gaining new experiences. These include meeting new people, gaining new skills, cultivating current skills, and exploring New York. I am hoping to gain an experience that will not only help me with my future career goals but also experiences I can look back on as a great moments in my life.

Why do you support Good Counsel Services?

They do a lot of amazing work for nonprofits and social entrepreneurs. I believe the work that Good Counsel’s clients do is incredible and extremely necessary. By providing them with legal backing for their endeavors they prevent the unnecessary destruction of these organizations as a result of a lack of proper legal support and knowledge.

What are you passionate about?

I am very interested in Human Rights issues, however, my focus is women’s rights. Even more specifically I am focused on women’s access to education. Education is a very important institution that many girls are denied access to. Denying access to education devalues the potential of a young woman, and robs them of skills that they need to access the workforce on an equal level to boys.

was a residence volunteer last year and lived on a floor with a bunch of first years and helped them integrate into university life.

Why do you think it's important to give back to the community?

I believe that it is not only important but necessary to give back to the community. There are a lot of people that need support because they have been subject to an unfair and unequal system. People may need help to get out of this or they may simply be in a rough time in their life and need a little bit of assistance.

Have you done any volunteer or nonprofit work in your past?

A couple of years ago, I was the vice president of communications for a school organization called the Legacy Project. We would collect recycling throughout the school, exchange it for money, and donate it to people who need to start up their business or buy animals for their farms. It would help ensure success for them in the future; many of them only needed that one donation to kickstart their career or save it from failure. I was in charge of making presentations about the successful donations we made as well as spreading awareness about the cause and recruiting.

What do you think it is most important for our readers to do in order to make a difference?

I think what is most important is to get involved in any way possible and use your skills. There are so many volunteer opportunities out there that require a diversity of skills. There are numerous ways to make a difference than the conventional hands-on volunteering, such as writing, planning, and organizing. There is also an abundance of causes that need your efforts.

How do you personally try to make the world a better place in your life?

I want to help people with their businesses by sharing my political science knowledge and writing skills. I would like to help girls and women access education.

Is there a specific organization or social entrepreneur that you are excited to work with that Good Counsel supports?

I am very interested in beauty products and the way they may be used to help women. I am excited about Di Lorén skin, which uses wild ingredients and employs women in Northern Uganda. I want to possibly do something like they do one day, so I would be very interested in working with them.

Arden volunteering planting trees.

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