“This experience changed everything,” says Rivers, who admitted being unsure whether law school was the right fit for him, before hearing about a volunteer clerk internship with the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Chris applied for the job via e-mail and received notification that he’d been offered the position during a class in early September 2008. “I dropped out of classes and I was out of Canada by October,” says Chris, who received Co-op and Career’s Thouvenelle scholarship to help him make the move to Rwanda. He says that the financial aid and the support he received from the co-op program made his work term possible.

Chris has always been interested in the topics of war and genocide, and wrote his political science thesis on human rights offences in Argentina. Rwandan history was a personal interest of his, and Romeo Dallaire had become his hero and mentor. “He has such dedication—he is my role model. I want emulate him any way I can.”

When Chris heard that he could be involved in history-in-the-making, he jumped at the chance. In Arusha, Tanzania, one of the countries that neighbours Rwanda, Chris worked for UN Judge Ines Monica Weinberg, helping in the drafting of genocide judgments. The two cases on which Chris spent the majority of his time involved Protais Zigiranyirazo, brother-in-law of the former president of Rwanda, and pop star Simon Bikindi, who wrote songs that incited hatred and encouraged violence during the conflict. While Chris was working for the tribunal, another war criminal was apprehended and detained while awaiting trial.

“It can be pretty depressing,” admits Chris, “but that doesn’t detract from the necessity of continuing to do it.” Chris is passionate about Africa and hopes to ultimately pursue work in the Sudan or Congo.

After such a successful work term, Chris is feeling pretty good. “I worked for the UN by the time I was 23. I’m pretty confident,” he says, with a smile. Hopefully, like his hero, Chris will go on to do great things.