Ashlin Stover: Reflections on Her Summer Internship with HRCS

Ashlin Stover: Reflections on Her Summer Internship with HRCS

Ashlin Stover: Reflections on Her Summer Internship with HRCS

This summer, we were delighted to welcome Ashlin Stover to Human Rights Consortium Scotland for a 10-day internship as part of her Summer Voyage through the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service.

During her time with HRCS, Ashlin learned more about human rights work in Scotland, connected with members of our network and undertook comparative research exploring human rights frameworks in Scotland and the United States.

About Ashlin

Ashlin is completing a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations at James Madison College, Michigan State University, with minors in Business and European Studies. She is committed to building a career in international human rights and conflict prevention, with a particular focus on designing policies that meaningfully include the voices of displaced and conflict-affected communities.

Comparing Human Rights Frameworks

Ashlin’s HRCS-based research considered some of the key differences between the human rights frameworks in Scotland and the United States, as well as the opportunities and challenges faced by human rights advocates in both contexts.

Some of her key takeaways included:

• Different approaches to human rights: Scotland places greater emphasis on the role of the state in protecting and fulfilling rights, while the US constitutional framework focuses more strongly on protecting individuals from government interference.
• Legal and political structures matter: Different constitutional and political arrangements can create both opportunities and challenges for strengthening human rights protections.
• Learning through comparison: Looking at areas including hate crime, migration and prisoners’ rights highlighted different approaches and provided opportunities to learn from experiences in both countries.
• International engagement: Scotland’s engagement with international human rights bodies provides opportunities to use international standards and mechanisms to inform domestic policy and advocacy.
• The importance of collaboration: A key lesson from Ashlin’s research was the value of collaboration between government, civil society and people with lived experience in making human rights meaningful in practice.

“The most powerful insight is the value of collaboration - across government, civil society, and affected individuals. Effective human rights work is rooted in partnership, practical engagement, and a willingness to learn from different systems.”

Reflections on Her Time with HRCS

Ashlin’s placement gave her the opportunity to see how human rights principles are translated into advocacy and policy work in practice, while also learning from the experiences and expertise of organisations across Scotland.

We’re grateful to Ashlin for the enthusiasm, insight and dedication she brought to HRCS, and for sharing her research and reflections with us. We wish her all the best as she continues her studies and develops her career in international human rights and conflict prevention.

Staying Connected with HRCS

Ashlin is keen to stay connected with HRCS following her internship and is already planning an event as part of this year’s Scotland’s Human Rights Festival, taking place from 9–13 December 2026.

We’re delighted that her time with HRCS won’t end with her internship and look forward to welcoming her back as part of the festival.

Connect with Ashlin on LinkedIn here