Jessica Stewart is a graduate student participating in the Master of International Public Policy program at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Criminal Justice and Public policy, minor in Sociology, and a Business Certificate from the University of Guelph in 2023. Prior to her studies at University of Guelph, she completed a portion of her degree at the Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University where she specialized in Economics and Governance in 2019.

While attending St. Francis Xavier, Jessica participated in several school programs including Model United Nations and tutoring/mentorship through the mathematics department. Her acting role in the New York City Model United Nations included representing Germany as a delegate within the World Food Programme. During an eight-month period, she drafted numerous policy briefs, lead discussions and performed speeches while exercising a high degree of compromise, critical thinking, and quality research. Her policy briefs focused on the need for sustainable accessibility to proper nutrition worldwide. In reward for her accomplishments, the conference awarded the St. Francis Xavier team with acknowledgment as an Honourable Delegation.

During Jessica’s time at University of Guelph, she focused many of her studies on Government institutions, economics, and the legal system. Jessica engaged with peers through tutoring and curation of individualized programs in Statistics and Economics during her few years of study. Within her Major, she produced writings on the complexity of the legal environment in the North Americas, commonly looking for solutions regarding prison reform. During her minor in sociology, she conducted her own study and analysis on crime mapping in the Toronto region. Within these aspects of her degree, she also committed to an understanding of the Canadian business landscape to better understand national and international Economics.

Jessica’s research interests include economics, the criminal justice system, and public policy. Pursing her Master of International Public Policy, she hopes to further explore these areas in an international perspective. After her work with the United Nations, she is motivated to work in the political sphere within an area of economics either on a national or international scale.