Cynthia Salim, a 2009 LMU grad and native of Jakarta, Indonesia, will soon head to another corner of the globe to continue her education. Salim, who majored in political science and minored in ethics, received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to pursue a master's degree in human values and contemporary global ethics at King's College London.
Rotary International members volunteer locally and globally to improve health conditions, promote education and combat poverty. As a Rotary Scholar, Salim is sponsored by the Westchester Rotary Club, which maintains a close relationship with LMU. "The Westchester Rotary Club has been so generous and has been such a source of encouragement," she says.
Most of what she knows about service and leadership, Salim says, was learned from Michelle Ko, her mentor and director of LMU's Asian Pacific Student Services, where Salim worked as a special projects coordinator for two years. She became interested in political theory and global governance through her work with Students for Labor and Economic Justice (SLEJ).
As an ASLMU senator, Salim authored a resolution to support the Los Angeles Living Wage ordinance passed by the Los Angeles City Council to lift local hotel workers out of poverty. “I realized I was more interested in being an advocate for the marginalized than being a general student advocate, so I resigned from ASLMU to take the presidency of SLEJ,” she explains.
But one of her most “eye-opening and purpose-affirming” experiences was interning for longtime educator and civil rights activist Warren Furutani on his campaign for California State Assembly District 55. "The authenticity of the community leaders who worked on Warren’s campaign and their commitment to serving the marginalized above all else truly inspired me," she says. "The sense of grassroots community restored my faith in the political system and inspired me to continue to work peacefully and tirelessly to reclaim it for the under-served."
Salim also spent seven weeks at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz Graduate School of Public Policy with 29 other fellows from around the nation as a Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. The program promotes the participation of underrepresented groups in public service and leadership roles domestically and internationally.
Before she settles in England, Salim will spend nine weeks at the University of Geneva improving her French language skills. At King's College London, she says she will research international women's issues, multiculturalism, global governance and demilitarization.
"My goal is to help develop a human culture with a more inclusive and respectful understanding of 'the other'; a culture that enables us to fulfill our moral obligations to each other more easily and more wholeheartedly," she says.