Bella Kwok recently received the Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship, granting her $50,000 for tuition along with a $10,000 travel and Airbnb stipend.
At just 14 years old, Bella Kwok struggled to understand the depth of sexual violence — something she noticed others her age were experiencing at alarming rates. She learned many of her peers felt the same way, and the lack of understanding made it difficult for them to process their experiences.
So Kwok turned to a solution — sexual education.
“I was still very young and sexual assault and sexual violence were terms that I hadn’t really heard of, or at least the topic I had never even thought about,” said Kwok, a junior criminal justice major. “And I think within my own experiences, I didn’t even realize what it was. So I think it was a mix of anger and confusion and also wanting to learn more about the topic myself.”
Inspired by helping herself and others understand sexual violence, Kwok decided to start a Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention club at her high school, dedicated to providing resources, support and education. Now, she is continuing her work in sexual assault advocacy as the vice president of Student Activists Against Sexual Assault at Temple.
In August, Kwok received the Voyager Scholarship — the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service — in recognition of her accomplishments in activism against sexual violence.
The scholarship provides $50,000 toward tuition, a $10,000 travel stipend and free Airbnb housing for the Summer Voyage program. The work-travel opportunity allows Kwok to choose a country to visit and immerse herself in learning about her chosen topic, human trafficking.
The program was established by The Obama Foundation in partnership with Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, and awarded to just 100 students nationwide. The prestigious scholarship is reserved for students who display exceptional dedication to public service.
To apply, Kwok had to demonstrate financial need, be able to commit to the two-year program and plan to pursue a career in public service after graduating. Kwok hopes the scholarship will allow her to research sex trafficking in other countries after learning about sexual violence’s widespread impact after founding SAAP in high school.
Before forming SAAP, Kwok recognized a lack of awareness about sexual violence as the primary reason perpetuating assaults. She decided to use her own experiences, along with those of others, to educate and raise awareness in hopes of stopping assaults before they happen.
“A lot of students, even students that weren’t that I’ve never talked to, disclosed to me, and kind of were a lot more open to talking about their experiences with me,” Kwok said. “And in that a common theme I heard is a lack of knowledge about the issue in general. And so I think in forming the club, yes, I was educating my peers, but I was also learning a lot throughout the process to be able to educate my peers.”
Kwok discovered SAASA through TempleFest, the university’s annual club fair, where she met Ray Epstein, SAASA’s founder and president.
Through connecting with Epstein, Kwok’s horizons were broadened to new resources, connections and opportunities for advocacy, she said.
A case that stuck with Kwok was a student who came to her in April seeking resources from SAASA after reporting her sexual assault. The student felt confused about the process of reporting a perpetrator and was struggling with the lack of support in the justice system, so Kwok stepped in as a resource for understanding, comfort and education.
“It’s been a long time, and throughout the process, it’s been extremely re-traumatizing for her, and she almost gave up a couple times,” Kwok said. “And I was able to encourage her, be there for her, support her no matter what. And if she did decide to give up I’d be there to support her as well. And I feel really privileged to be able to be there for her through this process.”
After witnessing her passion and empathy through working with Kwok for three years, Epstein attests to Kwok’s success and admires her humility.
“There’s nobody more deserving,” Epstein said. “I just think it’s so powerful to see so many people at once being recognized for turning pain into passion, or for serving people and for supporting them. Bella is somebody who has succeeded so much, and she’s now being recognized for that in such a national way.”
Epstein will pass the torch to a new SAASA President when she graduates in May. She anticipated feeling sad after leaving the club she founded and the president position she’s held for three years, but was comforted by the knowledge that many of the club’s members, including Kwok, are extremely capable and worthy of the position.
Outside of her role as SAASA’s vice president, Kwok is involved with various in-state and local organizations and hopes to pass anti-sexual violence legislation on campuses. She is the state director of Pennsylvania’s Every Voice Coalition chapter, an organization combatting sexual violence by empowering college students to pass legislation and lead grassroots movements.
Andrew Echols, EVC’s executive director, has worked with Kwok since she started her freshman year. He has been a long-standing witness to her humility and dedication and it’s her outstanding leadership abilities and natural legislative advocacy that set her apart, he said.
“The big thing that really just sets Bella apart is her drive and her commitment,” Echols said. “I think I always know Bella is going to be there. I always know she’s going to be on time and prepared and ready to go and eager to take the next bite.”
For her Summer Voyage, Kwok plans to travel to either Jamaica or Vietnam to study the country’s laws and legislation surrounding human trafficking.
She wants to continue her education post-graduation and attend law school to advocate for sexual violence survivors and implement policies. Kwok also hopes to create systemic change in how the United States handles sexual violence cases and hopes her impact can one day be global, she said.
“There’s so many flaws in our system and our criminal justice system and our legal system, and I want to be able to address these problems,” Kwok said. “And one of my career goals is actually to draft and implement policy and legislation that strengthens legal protection for sex trafficking victims.”
Reach out to Bayleh at bayleh.alexander@temple.edu.
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