I left Canada on August 1st, and I've been putting off writing this final reflection because it's so hard to believe that my time at FCJ and Toronto is over. It was an incredibly meaningful experience filled with difficult but important work. I want to thank everyone at the Center, especially Josh, Jacobo, and all the student interns, for welcoming me into their community. I can only hope I was able to give as much to the refugees we help as I learned from the work we did for them.

It is not every day that you have the opportunity to not just learn about what immigration systems are like in other countries, but to actually help people navigate the intricacies of it all and celebrate the progress they've made. I think back to the street fair FCJ hosted my first week, with everyone in high spirits despite the heat that day, speaking about their difficult journeys to Canada and celebrating the diversity within the city. It was a wonderful event to be a part of, and it highlights why FCJ's work (and the work of other organizations like it) is so crucial: it gives refugees a path to not just living, but thriving in community with others. With increased xenophobia in Canada, the US, and elsewhere, this work is more important than ever. I hope that the work I completed these past six weeks will give many refugees the permanent legal status they deserve, and with it this chance of creating a new life for themselves.

Although many of the specific laws I learned during my LiA will not be applicable at home in the United States, I have brought with me a better understanding of legal systems as a whole and thus a foundation to understand law and advocate for marginalized people at home. Additionally, the argumentative writing skills I have gained and sharpened at FCJ are invaluable and I hope to apply them to my writing in the future, whether that be at school or at a job. The future is uncertain, of course, but I know that I want to continue helping others the way I did in Toronto, to be a small but hopefully positive part of an otherwise difficult time in one's life. It was an honor and a pleasure working at FCJ Refugee Center for my LiA, and I hope that I am able to carry on their mission of "walking with uprooted people" in the work I do at home. More importantly, I hope they are able to continue their work for decades to come, and that all of the cases I worked on have positive outcomes.

Goodbye Toronto, until we meet again!