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WEDNESDAY
May 16,2007
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3
Wohm resident, aspiring
intermtionul humun rights lawyer1
Kuong- Ly- of Boston
College earns presitigious
Truman Scholarship
CHESTNUT HILL - BOSton College junior Kuong
Ly, a resident of Woburn,
Mass. who aspires to be an
international human rights
lawyer, has been named a
2007 Truman Scholar, the
7th BC student to win the
coveted award in the past
10 years.
He is the only Massachusetts resident, and one of
on1 65 students across the
u . J , selected by the Harry
S. Truman Scholarship
Foundation, from among
585 candiliates nominated
by 280 colleges
and universities.
Winners of the Truman,
a n award given to college
studepts seeking to attend
graduat* school-in preparation for careers in government or elsewhere in public
service, were selected on
the basis of leadershi po
tential, intellectual a llltyand Likelihood of "making a
difference."
1..
The Scholars will receive
their awards in a special
ceremony a t the Truman
Library i n Independence,
Missouri, on May 20.
Ly is deeply involved in
human rights issues, primarily protectin the rights
of refugee popufations, especially those who have
been traumatized by their
experiences fleeing from
mass violence.
Ultimately, he would like
to work with the Legal Assistance Centres of the
United Nations {High Commissioner on Refugees,, anti
plans to use 'his Txdman
scholarship- -- which provides $30,000 for'graduate
study, as well as leadership
training and special internship opportunities within
the federal government -- to
obtain a law 'degr6e as well
as a Master's in human
rights.
With the support of the
fellowship, Ly volunteered
with Never Again Rwanda,
an organization that helps
youth understand the roots
of conflict and promotes
conflict resolution and sustainable peace.
While in Africa, he
helped put together a workshop about the broader history of genocide, using his
knowledge not only of Cambodia but also other cases
he has been researching:
Armenia, the Holocaust,
Bosnia, Darfur, and,Sudan.
As an artist, Ly stron ly
believes that art can p ay
an important role, in helping to heal trauma. He is
helping to develop a project
in whlch Rwandan youth
have a creative outlet -- poetry, eaqings, and essays - to ex ,ress their feelings
about$$ gepocide.
,BosVktOollege Political
I ~ciQ'n'de$$i$date Prpfessor
, lderiji *Haty%~o,
who 'nominated him for the Truman,
deems Ly "tirelessly driven
to help others."
The student has spent
the'current semester studyihg a t Beijing University,
as well as interning two
da s a week a t the UN Deveyopment F u n d for
women. He is workin on a
project that will e ucate
Chinese, especially those in
the rural areas of China,
about domestic violence.
He has conducted research with the Harvard
k
WOBURN'S
KUONG LY
-.--
"The Truman Scholarship will allow me to address the social and ethical
responsibilities and challenges raised by efforts to
protect refugee human
rights and help victims of
trauma," said Ly. "The
scholarship will also allow
me to be art of a community of liie minded individuals who see problems
in society and are willing to
challenge the status quo."
The Truman is the latest
in a series of awards for
Ly, whose majors are -erhaps surprisingly - phifosophy and studio art, with
a minor in BC's Faith,
Peace and Justice Program.
He received The Amnesty International Patrick
Stewart Human Rights
Scholarship, which he used
to develop the "Remember
Cambodia Project" in 2005
to commemorate the 30th
anniversary of the Cambodian genocide.
He also was one of two
BC students to receive an
International Institute of
Public Policy Fellowship,
which helps students pi%
pare for career in international affairs.
d
p r o g r a m in Refugee
Trauma, and is developing
a uide in Khmer and Englist as a means to improve
mental health resources for
Cambodians-in the United
States and abroad.
He also has been active
in nei hborhood revitalization eborts in Boston's Chinatown community and in
Lynn, Mass.
Ly said he owes "a lot of
my success in winning the
Truman Scholarship and
other national fellowships
to my Boston College g o fessors, to wonderful individuals I work with at the
Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and at the
Asian Community Development Corporation, to, my
close friends and most Importantly, my family."