Wendy Low is president of Never Again!, a student group that promotes awareness of the Holocaust and the atrocity of genocide. Photo courtesy of Wendy Low
Wendy Low is a proponent of social justice. It’s not a passing interest, but a lifelong passion that was ignited when she joined her first cause at the age of 10. Today, Low continues to advocate for social justice as president of Never Again!, a student group that promotes awareness of the Holocaust and the atrocity of genocide.
“Our mission is to encourage activism to prevent the reoccurrence of genocide so that we can truly say never again,” says Low, a junior biology major with a minor in Judaic studies.
Low was exposed to social justice issues at a young age through her mother’s work with Holocaust survivors and her father’s work with the Jewish Federation. It was through her father’s work that Low attended her first interfaith gathering and embraced her first cause. Her commitment to social justice grew through high school and continues at DU.
“Once you’re an advocate, you never really stop being one; you just move on to a new cause,” Low says. “Social justice work is about restoring balance and harmony to an unequal world. It is both meaningful and rewarding.”
Growing up in St. Louis, Low attended Jewish Day School, where students as young as 5 took part in Holocaust memorial and educational activities. In fifth grade, she heard testimony from a survivor for the first time.
“My social justice work comes from a secular place,” she says. “I do justice because it’s the right thing to do, but my Jewish roots have certainly acted as a background motivator.”
Under the direction of Sari Havis, lecturer in the Center for Judaic Studies, Low recently was inducted into the new DU chapter of the National Honor Society for Students of Hebrew.
“Wendy is a bright, compassionate and altruistic person,” Havis says. “In my Hebrew classes, as well as in my Israeli studies class, I have found Wendy to be an inquisitive and
original thinker, aiming not only to learn the content but to understand it deeply.”
After graduation, Low hopes to work in a field where she can bring scientific innovation to the public’s attention. “Scientists are not always the best publicists, and a lot of research never makes its way to the public’s hands,” she says, adding that social justice work will always be a big part of her life.
“We are not living in a perfect world, and once aware of the injustices, it is impossible to turn a blind eye,” Low says. “I know that through my actions, I can make a small difference and better my part of the world.”