Lilla Eperjesi is a student at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in the Masters of Arts in Global Governance Program. She recently graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Throughout her undergraduate degree, Lilla developed a strong interest in researching gender, security, peace and conflict. During this time, Lilla also had the opportunity to work for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at MPP Mike Schreiner’s constituency office as a coop student before becoming a permanent employee. In her role, she worked with hundreds of constituents, many of whom experienced marginalization including women, people of color, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, immigrants, and peoples with disabilities. She also closely worked with ministry liaisons and stakeholder groups in the public sector from across the province.

Outside of academics, Lilla worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant for Dr. Edward Koning and Dr. Dave Snow at the University of Guelph. Through these experiences she closely investigated differentiation in benefit and service extension between immigrants and native-born citizens in Germany and the Netherlands. She also conducted literature reviews on public policy mechanisms contributing toward the creation of a textbook on Canadian Public Policy.

During her time at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Lilla is looking forward to advancing her research with a focus on international peace and security through a feminist lens.