The on- and off-campus leader and advocate will soon have the opportunity to put her goals into motion.
After only three short years of attending Temple University, junior criminal justice major with a minor in gender, sexuality and women’s studies Bella Kwok has made her mark as a leader and an advocate on campus, and will soon get to explore the world.
Kwok has made countless efforts working to create conversation and change around the issue of sexual violence, and is the current vice president of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault (SAASA). This past summer, she was awarded the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service, as part of the Voyager Scholarship program, to promote her fight against human trafficking. She is currently trying to advance a Pennsylvania bill that would provide protections for student victims of sexual assault.
Upon arriving to campus, Kwok knew she was looking to be involved in an advocacy group fighting sexual violence. She felt uninformed on the matter in high school, and went as far to begin her own organization to educate fellow students.
“Sexual violence wasn’t really a topic I had heard of,” said Kwok. “I knew it was an important issue that everyone should know about and wanted to create a safe space to communicate the topic.”
The Voyager Scholarship was created to support students who are driven by public service looking to serve their communities. If selected, students will enter a two-year program focused on leadership and development, a travel stipend to support an initiative that a recipient could work on while abroad and a large scholarship.
Kwok, eager for the opportunity to apply, gathered all the necessary information swiftly to ensure the process was completed.
“It was a long application process,” said Kwok. “I really enjoyed answering a lot of the questions on the application, though, because it was about my passions.”
Kwok was visiting her family in Japan when she received her Voyager Scholarship decision. Being able to celebrate with those she loved made the experience even more extraordinary.
“I hadn’t been around my family in five years or so. When I found out about the scholarship it was great that I was able to celebrate with them.” said Kwok.
Now that she’s a Voyager scholar, Kwok will have the opportunity to travel to different countries where human trafficking is a prominent issue. She is looking forward to being able to study the issue more, and offer hands-on assistance to victims of human trafficking. She learned a great deal about this topic through a class here at Temple.
“Professor Tara Tripp’s Women Beyond Borders course, really ignited my passion for the topic.” Kwok said. “The content resonated with me.”
In addition to embarking on the Voyager Scholarship program, Kwok is currently attempting to pass a PA bill with the Every Voice Coalition. Called the Every Voice bill, she is working with Rep. Amen Brown and Ray Epstein, president of SAASA, to create a foundation that would support students in combating sexual violence. It requires all colleges and universities in the state to conduct campus climate surveys, provide resource advisors to support students, implement amnesty policies and hold trauma-informed prevention and response training. Kwok, Brown and Epstein coined these the “Core 4.”
Kwok was not aware that law and advocacy work was something in the cards for her. However, after getting involved more with Every Voice Coalition and the creation of this bill, she knew that this was the career path for her.
“Law is a way to advocate for survivors on a new level,” Kwok said.
Beginning advocacy work in high school, Kwok never anticipated to be involved with sexual violence on a legistlative level. Now she’s a Voyager Scholarship recipient, advocating for a bill in Harrisburg and thinking of attending law school. This is all just a part of the journey for Kwok to keep fighting against sexual violence, a subject that she will be advocating for years to come.