The Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution are designed to provide students with the ability to understand the causes of conflict, recognize its patterns and dynamics, and intervene effectively in conflict situations. An important component of the program is connecting students with opportunities to practice and enhance the skills they acquire.  Here are two examples of the diverse interests and settings in which our students work.

Sara Cohen, a candidate for aGraduate Certificate in theDispute Resolution program, is working with the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) as an unpaid internduring the spring and summer of 2008. CBI, a non profit organization that provides mediation and facilitation services focused on public policy, has been contracted by the Neponset River Watershed Association to facilitate a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), comprised of 20-30 representatives of the community stakeholder groups,to discuss options for the Lower Neponset River that runs through Boston, Milton, and Quincy.

Government, community, and environmental groups are concerned with a number of issues affecting the river; these include remediating PCB contamination in the river sediment, restoring fish passage that has been disrupted by two dams in this section of river, protecting and enhancing the historic, aesthetic, and recreational value of this stretch of the river and its banks, and protecting and restoring critical wildlife habitat.

As part of her internship experience, Sara will assist in the drafting of a final report summarizing any consensus agreements, if achieved; areas of disagreement, if they remain; descriptions of the interests that would need to be satisfied to reach further agreement; and ways to address such interests in the future.

Sara has focused her studies in the Dispute Resolution program on public discourse and hopes to use the skills she develops through her graduate work to facilitate public decision-makingin environmental, land use, and other public arenas.The internship with CBI will serve as excellent training for such work.

Jill Lofchie, a Masters candidate in the Dispute Resolution program, is currently interning at the Blue Hills Regional Vocational High School as the Peer Mediation Coordinator. This internship matches her interest in working with youth and families to enhance communication and problem solving skills. “For me, it is a perfect way to integrate the skills I learned in the Mediation Internship Seminar with my passion to motivate, teach, and empower youth to resolve conflicts cooperatively,”   explains Jill.

Peer mediation programs train students in mediation and conflict resolution skills, and supervise and support them as they mediate conflicts among their peers. The goal is to improve communication, reduce violence, and create sustainable solutions to high school conflicts. Some conflicts are referred by teachers and administrators; others are brought to the program by students embroiled in conflicts themselves. As peer mediators, teens acquire meaningful skills that they can use for handling conflict throughout their lives.

As part of her internship experience, Jill is leading training sessions for peer mediators, modeling mediation, supervising the peer mediation sessions, updating the peer mediation training materials, and working with the peer mediators to educate other students and staff about mediation.