Northumbria graduate wins internship in Parliament

A History graduate is using his internship in the House of Commons to help raise awareness of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Euan Macfarlane, who graduated last year with an MA in History from Northumbria, has suffered from Inflammatory Bowel Disease since he was a teenager. After graduating, Euan won a prestigious internship at Westminster as part of a five-month programme. He will be working at the House of Commons five days a week in the office of Melanie Onn, MP for Great Grimsby.

The internship programme is designed to immerse interns in the Parliamentary process and provides invaluable experience for their future careers. Euan’s role involves a work programme for an All Party Parliamentary Group on IBD.

Having been diagnosed with IBD at the age of 16, Euan has used his role as a platform to reach out to young people and raise awareness, demonstrating that living with IBD does not have to restrictive in terms of career ambitions.

He said: “The Parliamentary Internship is both an immense privilege and an amazing opportunity. Having suffered from IBD since my teenage years, I am no stranger to the feelings of despair and hopelessness that can arise as a result of the condition.

“This internship provides me with the opportunity to demonstrate to young suffers that, despite having IBD, it is possible to lead a full and active life – and what a better place to do that in Parliament.”

James McConnel, Reader in History at Northumbria University, said of Euan’s success: “The History staff are really pleased that Euan has secured his internship in the House of Commons. Through his BA and MA at Northumbria, he is equipped with the ideal skills to be a successful parliamentary assistant. We are delighted that Euan has been given this wonderful opportunity that will enable him to gain the valuable experience for his future career.”
Melanie Onn, whose office Euan works within, added: “I am really delighted to have Euan as my Parliamentary intern through the Crohn’s and Colitis UK internship programme. It is really important that people from a variety of backgrounds with different personal experiences, including those with Crohn’s and Colitis, have the chance of working in Parliament.

“This is a great opportunity for Euan to experience working inside the Houses of Parliament alongside MPs and researchers and getting to grips with the processes and procedures of Westminster.”

Euan has also created his own Facebook page, in which he will be documenting his experience with regular updates about his journey.

To find out more about Euan’s journey, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/crohnsandcolitisinthecommons/