Daniela Londono
My name is Daniela Londono and I am a rising senior at Boston Latin School. I am very excited to be a Ward Fellow and be able to work at the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office under Steven Tompkins. I grew up in the small town of Allston. I play on the school’s soccer team. I play the flute in the school’s concert band. My parents are immigrants from Colombia and I will be a first generation college student.
My interest in government started one day when I was at home enjoying my leisure time watching television. I was scrolling through the different shows that were on and stumbled upon what became one of my favorite shows, Criminal Minds. It fascinated me how they were able to study the crime scenes and learn so much from them. My interest continued to grow as I started to watch Law and Order. It fascinated me to see how victims were able to get justice and the entire process of it, but also angered me when they were unable to. Although I know the shows differ from what happened in real life, many of the tragic events that took place are similar to events in our society.
After realizing my great interest in government, I went to the PIC office at school to find a summer job related to the field of government. I was able to obtain a job through the Boston Bar Association in the summer of 2018 where I interned at the Moakley Courthouse and my interest only grew even more. I was able to meet many great people in great positions, like Adam Foss, and learned a lot about the power one can hold and the contributions one can make to the community with that power. I learned about the Central Park Five case and saw how horrific the system can be towards those who are unfortunate. I also became much more politically aware and learned about much more tragic events that continued to plague our society. I could not bear to just sit and take in what happens, I realized that I must act towards change to help create a better society for everyone. I was able to see that the field of government and public service would be a great opportunity to help find a voice for those who are silenced and marginalized in our society.
I applied for the Ward Fellowship because I wanted to continue to expand my knowledge on government and public service. I want to continue to learn about the many ways I can help those who are underrepresented. I want to be able to fight for those who do not receive equal opportunities.