By: M.A. Student, Ellie Richards
The M.A. students met with Prof. Robert Destro, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights. Destro, who is also a professor at CUA’s school of law, discussed the most effective ways to accomplish human rights work. He emphasized that often it is not only about what one knows but who one knows (because this can provide an entry into a difficult situation). Destro also told the students how sometimes it is best to approach a situation by indirection; such an approach can provide insights lacking from a direct approach; this strategy he referred to as “human rights from the ground up.”
He advised students that to have a career in human rights, one must determine where one’s own abilities and God’s providential plan intersect. Destro said that the most important thing to do at the beginning of one’s career is to develop human relationships. As demonstrated by Destro’s own generous offer to assist the students, the MA in human rights program continues to provide wonderful opportunities to build such relationships with Destro and the other human rights leaders with whom we met in the Fall semester.
