This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KU chapter.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” — John Quincy Adams
Danielle London, a sophomore at the University of Kansas, exemplifies every quality of what it means to be a leader. Originally from Overland Park, Danielle is studying peace and conflict studies and global and international studies with minors in French and Spanish.
She is involved in various organizations, including: Treasurer for SURGE, Model UN, Seminar Assistant for the Honors department, Student Social Justice Educator for OMA and a member of the Lambda Sigma Sophomore Honors Society. On top of all of these organizations, Danielle is very devoted to school, friends, family, her boyfriend, the Royals and her cat.
What brought you to KU?
It was the most affordable college I got into.
What were some other schools you had in mind?
Loyola University in Chicago was my first pick, but even with scholarships, it was too much. The University of Washington and DePaul were also ones I considered.
What are some reasons you chose the majors that you did?
I want to be an immigration social worker and possibly one day work for the state to change laws regarding immigration (to make it easier, quicker and safer for immigrants to get here and to give them more protection once they’re here). So before I get a masters in social work — and possibly also public administration — it was important to me that I understand what’s going on in the world that causes people to immigrate. It’s also fascinating to me, because I think that we’re all global citizens, not just citizens of our own countries, so we need to be aware of what happens elsewhere, the problems others face around the world and how those problems can be solved in a way that works best for everyone.
So, why did you choose the organizations that you did? What sparked your interest?
SURGE really spoke to me because of its feminist principles and core. It was also a very welcoming group, and I’ve felt that my voice really gets heard and I’m able to really be a part of the group. I also really like the direction it’s heading in. We’re doing things like working to become more intersectional, because we realize in the past the organization hasn’t done enough to support marginalized students.
I joined Model UN really to see if I would like working for the real UN maybe possibly one day, and it’s been a great experience, and I’ve been able to make lots of new friends, which is my favorite.
I’m a seminar assistant because my advisor asked me to. Really though, I’ve liked being able to work with freshmen in hopes of making their first year great and helping them out any way I can!
Lastly, my job is a perfect fit because I think educating people can go along way towards solving a whole lot of problems.
So, I heard that Model UN traveled to Los Angeles over Halloween. What was that experience like?
I really enjoyed it as my first conference. It was smaller than a lot but that made it less intimidating for me! It was super neat to be able to meet tons of new people and make new friends from literally all over the world. Plus it was in little Tokyo, so we had delicious food the whole time we were there. My country was the Holy See and I had a lot of fun pretending to be the Catholic Church as someone who grew up in a Jewish family. In addition, my committee voted me best speaker too, so that was pretty cool.
What’s your biggest inspiration? What drives you to do what you do?
I think that people all have the capacity within them to work together and love one another and create peace and harmony. That’s why I’m working towards jobs that let me be a part of that.
What are your plans following graduation?
Hopefully go to graduate school to get my masters!
Where do you plan on attending graduate school?
I’d like to go to somewhere not in Kansas, and hopefully a big city, but other than that I don’t have much of an idea!
One last question: What advice would you give to someone wanting to get more involved on campus?
I would say really just don’t be afraid to branch out and show up to meetings! There’s a list in the SILC office of every student organization on campus, so go pick it up, find a few that sound interesting, find their meeting times and just start going (and join SURGE)!
All photos provided by Danielle London
