In preparing for his Truman Scholarship application, Kuong Ly '08 didn't need to look too far for inspiration. He reflected upon a youth spent in refugee camps, where health problems ran rampant, and drew from his ongoing research into the medical concerns that so many displaced persons still face. The result was a compelling proposal to study the growing rate of type 2 diabetes within the Cambodian refugee community - and a Truman win.
Ly is the seventh BC student in the past 10 years to receive the prestigious scholarship, which recognizes future leaders committed to public service. He intends to use the $30,000 in graduate funding to study either refugee rights or forced migration.
"I've experienced firsthand how countries have political motives, but refugee aid should be and can be rooted in ethics," says Ly, who, as a young child, once lived and played in a refugee camp that also housed Vietnamese prisoners. For 10 years, his family was shuffled between Vietnam, Thailand, and the Phillippines, after fleeing persecution by Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime.
But Ly doesn't like to dwell on the past. "I'd much rather focus on current refugee issues, and what can be done about the political and social injustices that surround us. I truly value the Jesuit tradition of social justice," says Ly, who as a freshman participated in Campus Ministry's service trip to Nicaragua.
During the winter break of his junior year, Ly traveled to Africa on a fellowship from the Insitute for International Public Policy. He worked for the nongovernmental organization Never Again Rwanda to educate children on the worldwide effects of genocide. He also encouraged Rwandan youth to express their feelings through artwork and poetry as part of the healing process - the result of which he's trying to get published as an educational reference for other Rwandan children.
During the spring semeseter of his junior year, Ly worked for the United Nations Development Fund for Women, researching the North Korean refugee crisis and the trafficking of women. "My BC studies enhance these experiences because they keep me focused on what can be acheived," emphasizes Ly. A philosophy and studio art double major, he's also pursing a minor in faith, peace, and justice.
"I chose philosophy because I wanted to understand society," explains Ly, who's been heavily influenced by American philosopher John Rawls and other who address social justic issues. "For me the goal of philosophy is to argue for a holistic community and for why I'm responsible for others."
He says he's developed a better understanding of society as a council member in the PULSE Program, which for more than 37 years has given BC students the opportunity to enhnace their study of philosophy and theology with social service and social advocacy fieldwork.
Because of their work with Boston's Labouré Center of Catholic Charities and Boston Health Care for the Homeless, Ly finds that he and classmates have a chance to reflect and discuss "why poverty exists and why society is structured the way it is."
But for Ly, who wants to attend law school and specialize in international human rights law, definitive answers aren't necessary as long as opportunities to enact change remain.
What I've learned at BC is that it's crucial to take the problems you see in society, and from an ethical standpoint, try to address them in your own way. Even with small actions, you can move issues in the right direction," says Ly.
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