Human Rights Minor, Audrey Huynh, Wins John Gardner Public Service Fellowship

Stanford senior Audrey Huynh has been awarded the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship for 2019-20. The Gardner Fellowship provides opportunities for graduating seniors to invest their talent, energy and training in public service.

Audrey is a human rights minor and an active member of the Handa Center Student Advisory Board. As an International Relations major, Audrey is writing an honors thesis, examining the history of sexual violence committed against Vietnamese women during the Vietnam War and opportunities for transitional justice. She is being supervised by Handa Center Faculty Fellow, Beth Van Schaack.

“I was thrilled to learn that Audrey was awarded a Gardner Fellowship,” Professor Van Schaack said. “She is a remarkable young woman who will make the most of her experience. I have been honored to supervise her honors thesis, which promises to make an important and entirely original contribution to our understanding not only of the realities of the Vietnam War and the many war crimes it occasioned, but also the way in which large-scale sexual violence can be hidden in plain sight for decades. This fellowship is exactly what Audrey needs to launch a career in public service and human rights.”

Audrey has interned in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; Lawyers for Human Rights in Cape Town, South Africa; Justice Centre Hong Kong; and the Office of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“The Handa Center is by far one of the best communities I have been a part of at Stanford," Audrey said. "I have found incredible mentors in Penelope, Jessie, and David, who have all deeply affirmed my passion for international human rights law and advocacy and interest in pursuing a career in immigration and refugee policy. They are among the most supportive and invested Stanford faculty and staff I have had the privilege of knowing over the course of my undergraduate experience. I am also constantly inspired by my fellow human rights minors (who are also some of my best friends)!”

Through the Gardner Fellowship, Audrey will learn from national leaders in immigrant justice working at the intersection of law, policy, and advocacy.