Hello, my name is Bess Hurlock, and I am a second-year student from Redmond, Washington. I have always been interested in helping others and learning about previous conflicts, specifically to examine how they were resolved or how reparations were made. My passion started in 4th grade after reading Diary of Anne Frank and has since grown to promote peace and communication across the globe for many generations to come. As a result of this passion, Chapman’s peace and justice program was at the top of my list as it was so applicable to the work I wanted to do, and it was so focused on helping people, not just governments and international agencies.
I am interested in this course because it provides an opportunity to learn more about a conflict that I knew from the personal experience of my father’s family, being British. As a result, my knowledge of The Troubles is skewed, so this opportunity is valuable. I hope to gain a broader knowledge of The Troubles that encapsulates many different backgrounds and experiences. This may be difficult, as I need to set aside personal biases that have been a result of my British upbringing. But I have full confidence that this experience will help me grow.
