A Carleton alumnus, Caitlin Salvino, is one of two Ontario recipients of the Rhodes Scholarship this year.
Salvino graduated in April 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Law with a concentration in transnational law and human rights. The Charlatan spoke with Salvino after she received a separate Canada 150 award from Member of Provincial Parliament Yasir Naqvi on Dec. 2.
The Rhodes Scholarship allows university graduates to study at the University of Oxford in England. Past Rhodes scholars include former U.S president Bill Clinton, Rachel Maddow, former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, and Marc Kielburger.
Salvino was an active member of the Carleton community. She was part of six different clubs, had a leadership role on the Carleton Oxfam club, and founded the Carleton Human Rights Society.
Salvino notably served as chair for Our Turn, a student-led initiative which aims to combat campus sexual violence.
“One of the purposes [of the Rhodes scholarship] is to fight the world’s fight,” she said.
Salvino has diverse areas of interest. She volunteered with special needs children for over eight years and has been involved with Oxfam Canada for years.
“I am a passionate advocate for human rights,” Salvino said.
She also noted that an important use of academia is to support others. Salvino said that she saw, “the world through a rights-based perspective,” which is what sparked her interest in human rights.
The process that Salvino took to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship involved submitting a personal statement, a résumé, six references, and a weekend of interviews.
Salvino said she was focused on “being able to do the work that I do,” noting the educational opportunities that both Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarship provide.
Receiving this scholarship has not been easy for Salvino. She applied for a Rhodes Scholarship in 2016 and was not successful. She remained motivated though, and when asked what her advice would be for achieving success in university and life following school, she said that pursuing one’s goals and remaining resilient were important.
“You have to be bold,” Salvino said. “Sometimes it’s really not easy, but when you know what you care about, and you know in the long term what you’re doing matters, and it’s going to support people, I think that’s what’s most important.”
Featured image by Aaron Hemens
