National Leadership Program, Fall 2017
Julie Lun was a Public Policy and Employment Fellow in RespectAbility’s National Leadership Program. As of 2017, she was a senior at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and was studying criminal justice with a concentration in violence. Lun is a first-generation college student and understands the importance of nonprofits and advocacy.
Her parents immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts after the Cambodian genocide. With the support of local community organizations, Lun’s parents built a simple life in the United States. She describes growing up in Lowell as tough because her parents worked a great deal, and there was constant pressure from gangs and drug problems throughout the city. However, youth programs like Teen Block and GEAR UP helped her focus on her education to become the second person in her family to graduate high school, and the first to attend college. Lun credits her accomplishments to the nonprofits and advocacy programs that supported her. As a result, she wants to help other people rise above their own adversities to reach their goals and achieve independence.
Lun became interested in the disability community when she realized the topics covered in the classroom did not include people with disabilities. For example, in her victimology class, she recounts learning about different types of victims such as women, older adults, minorities and the LGBTQ community, but not learning about people with disabilities. She concluded that people with disabilities did not have support in the criminal justice system. Lun wants to learn more about the disability community and how she can help them reach their goals. After her Fellowship with RespectAbility, Lun planned to finish her undergraduate degree and continue her education to obtain graduate certificates in victims’ studies and leadership policy development and a Master’s degree in criminal justice.