You are just the sort of person the Sullivan Ballou Fund seeks to recognize and affirm. We have heard how, with a double major in Global Studies and Journalism, you are deeply committed to becoming a human rights-oriented journalist who forms authentic connections with marginalized groups and allows their voices to be heard through your excellent writing skills. You have already embarked on this path through your internship with Children of Incarcerated Caregivers, where you have helped develop a podcast series on international perspectives on prison nurseries. Your plan is to continue with this internship and also to spend time studying abroad to gain insight into Latin American culture, history, and human rights development. And you have been a volunteer ESL teacher with Open Door Learning Center and intend to pursue this work further.
Professor Barb Frey has been especially impressed with your creativity and leadership in the class’s ongoing simulation of the human rights threat posed by the proposed Talon Nickle Mine to the nearby traditional wild rice sites of the Sandy Lake Band of Ojibwe.
Jessica, we are delighted to be able to acknowledge and support you in this small way. You are receiving the 101st Sullivan Ballou award. Prior recipients include advocates for domestic violence victims and the poor and homeless, defenders of human rights, writers, painters, musicians, and small business owners who have shared their open hearts with those around them. Our hope is that this award helps you identify yourself, too, as an exceptional person with an explicit purpose of making the world a better place by shining a light on places where it is not a good place. We thank you for the contributions you have made thus far, and we wholeheartedly commend your future plans.
Congratulations!
Elissa and Bruce Peterson, Founding Members