When campus community members gather to honor seven retirees at the annual Honors Fellows fundraising gala at Allen House on Oct. 16, they will also honor the program’s first community fellow, human rights activist Loung Ung. Attendees will have a chance to meet Ung, an award-winning author who survived the Cambodian genocide as a child and brought her experiences to life in the national bestseller “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.”
“Naming our first community fellow is a recognition of the close connection between the university and the global community,” says Honors Program Director Doreen Arcus. “Loung Ung shares the same life experiences as many members of the University community and with even more of our Lowell neighbors. Throughout its history, Lowell has become home to people fleeing oppression, injustice and war. The Honors Program is honored to bring to campus such an eloquent spokesperson for survival, social justice, and human rights.”
In addition to her appearance at the Honors Fellows Gala, Ung will speak students and community members from 4-5 p.m. in the Comley-Lane Theatre in Mahoney Hall. The talk is free and open to the public.
Loung Ung was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge came to power in her native Cambodia. Her first heart-wrenching book explores the experiences during the genocide that followed — being forced into hiding in the countryside, losing her parents and two siblings, and being forced to train as a child soldier.
Once relocated to the U.S., Ung grew up in Vermont and was reunited with a sister she thought lost, experiences recounted in her second book, “Lucky Child.”
Remarkably, Ung has transformed her history of trauma and loss into a catalyst for action, devoting her adult life to promoting genocide awareness and other social justice issues.
She has spoken at the United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing and on racism in Durban, South Africa, and was selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the “100 Global Youth Leaders of Tomorrow.” She is the national spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine-Free World. Ung also won the Asian Pacific American Award for literature.
Following her talk, Ung will join the guests of honor at the Honors Fellows Fundraising Gala, which starts at 5:30 p.m. The gala also pays tribute to UMass Lowell retirees for their commitment to the educational excellence that inspires the UMass Lowell Honors Program.
This year’s honorees are: Mary Beaudry, Rudy Deanin, May Futrell, Jon Hellstedt, Brack Hinchey, Thaddeus Osmolski and William Phelan.
Tickets to the gala are $150. For information about the event, or to purchase tickets, contact Honors Coordinator Elizabeth Donaghey, 978-934-2921 or Lisa Gagnon, Lisa_Gagnon@uml.edu, 978-934-2237 .
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