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Catherine Luepkes

Biography

As an undergraduate, Catherine Luepkes compiled a formidable academic record as well as a strong record of activism on global human rights issues, including founding a campus chapter of Amnesty International. She undertook research on flawed water and sanitation systems in Chad, Cambodia, and Afghanistan that leave millions vulnerable to treatable diseases. She also presented papers frequently, including to the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, a rarity for an undergraduate.

But Catherine doesn't stop at the abstract intellectual level, says sociology professor Jennifer Crew Solomon; she "converts her knowledge and her convictions into action." Catherine will now pursue a doctorate at the University of Edinburgh.

Personal traumas fueled Ms. Luepkes' interest in political science and equity issues. Her oldest brother died when she was 12, and her mother died when she was finishing high school. Years later, watching TV footage of a woman fleeing the genocide in Serbia and Kosovo, Catherine says, "I saw my mother's face in hers." But Catherine is determined to look forward. "In life," she says, "the individual must learn to change, rebel, refigure, create and learn, but the other half of life involves healing, reconciling the past and letting go. Today, I live for both revolution and reconciliation."

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