Dressed in a crisp blue blouse and pencil skirt, she holds her head in confidence, giving off an impression of extreme professionalism and maturity.
On the table in front of her, a laptop is open, revealing a screen of multiple browsers; a norm for those who are used to multitasking while on the Internet.
With her dark hair pulled back, Virginia Vazquez maintains steady eye contact, brown eyes brimming with intelligence; a characteristic that surely helps her to fit in with her fellow classmates at the UCF’s Burnett Honors College.
What makes Vazquez different from some students at Burnett’s Honors College, is that though she’s a second year student, she has earned enough college credits in high school to be considered junior standing at UCF.
An even more unique aspect of Vazquez’s college career, is that besides attending the classes needed to obtain her degree in English creative writing, she is the current fellow for UCF’s Francis Bok Human Trafficking Awareness Fellowship.
“I began in summer of 2015 with my internship that was concentrated in human rights and human trafficking,” Vazquez said. “Right now I write weekly blog posts as well as attend any events that occur with the program.”
The Francis Bok Human Trafficking Awareness Fellowship is offered by the Human Trafficking Awareness Program through the UCF’s Global Perspectives Office each semester to a Central Florida college or university student of at least junior standing.
Part of the responsibility of being part of the program, is that the selected fellow is required to set aside a certain amount of time each week, specifically devoted to the fellowship program.
“As of right now, I have 5 fixed office hours a week but I commit more time outside of office hours to the program,” Vazquez said.
During these office hours, fellows contribute to activities within the program, write weekly blogs, as well as devote time to work on a specific research project. The blogs that Vazquez produces each week surrounds issues regarding human trafficking as well as human smuggling.
Madeline Simmons, a freshman creative writing major at UCF, who did not previously know about the fellowship, is aware of the current human trafficking problems in America and loves the fact that UCF offers such a program.
“Helping people is such a huge deal and what she [Vazquez] is devoting to, what all the people are devoting their time too, is so important,” Simmons said. “I really hope the movement gets more recognition through this.”
Lydia Castillo, a freshman theater major at UCF, just found out about the fellowship as well and expressed interest in possibly applying in the future.
“I think that not a lot of people know about it and being able to be a part of raising awareness is very important,” Castillo said. “What she [Vazquez] is doing is great. It’s not in vain and it’s so important, a lot of people, I’m sure, are benefiting from whatever little bit that can be done to help.”
Prior to being accepted as a fellow, Vazquez had no prior experience or knowledge regarding activism with human trafficking.
“It definitely helped me grow intellectually in how I look at the news and look at what goes on in the world,” Vazquez said with a smile. “It has also helped me grow the desire to be an activist. I think that is the biggest impact.”
“The fact that she has a role at all, means she cares more than the average bear,” said Tommy Kelly, a freshman theater major at UCF. “If there’s an event that I can go to or volunteer at, then I’d be interested in becoming involved. Good job Virginia.”
Parker Phillips, a freshman mechanical engineer major at UCF who is not currently involved in any activism programs on campus, expressed interest in the fellowship that Vazquez is a part of, wishing her good luck in Spanish.
Besides the human trafficking fellowship, the office of Global Perspectives at UCF offers 10 different fellowship opportunities to interested students, each focused on a specific issue including human rights, climate change, and global economy.
“It’s just been a really great opportunity and you get to meet very fascinating people who can help you learn more about yourself in terms of what you want to do in the future,” Vazquez said. “I really want everyone to be aware of current global events and know they can make a change.”
While the fellowship may last only a semester, the experience and knowledge Vazquez has gained through the program is sure to last a lifetime. It can be safe to say that this won’t be the last time the world hears from Vazquez; accompanied by her well used laptop and extensive knowledge on global issues.
