“Being the youngest child and the only son in a family of strong, independent, 进步的女性(单身母亲和三个姐妹)将我塑造成一个男人和一个人,” says Matthew Rullo, “and I believe that laid the groundwork for my career.”
When it came time for college, 这位土生土长的圣安东尼奥人知道他需要奖学金和经济援助. 在高中时，马修积极参加各种音乐节目:合唱团, a capella groups, theater, and state competitions, so he drew on his vocal talent when applying to college. This included a self-recorded CD, which led to a call from Scott MacPherson, Trinity choir director, 是谁邀请他去试镜并参加澳门金沙线上赌博官网室内歌手的排练. “我记得他们的声音听起来多么不可思议，在他们的低音部唱歌时我感觉多么自在,” he says, 这是我决定进入澳门金沙线上赌博官网的巨大动力. 一些后来成为我终身朋友的学生也坐在同一场排练中.”
一到校园，马修就把自己摊得很薄——也许有点太过了，他回忆道. He sang in the Trinity Choir and the Chamber Singers, was a founding member of the Trinitones, and regularly acted in theater productions. In addition, he anchored Newswave every Friday, served as a TU Ambassador, and worked as an RM and RA during his junior and senior years.
Unsure of a career path, 马修也很高兴有机会接触到不同的专业，“尝试不同的帽子”.” “Mathematics? Nope! Psychology? Nice Try!”
Then it happened. 马修和政治学教授玛丽·安·特姆特里奥特的第一节课吸引了他. In Tétreault he found “a fierce, progressive, 女权主义思想家”——就像那些影响他早年生活的女性一样——“她在挑战父权制, busting through gender norms, and embracing ideas of equal dignity and globalism.” He credits class discussions on civil liberties, diplomacy, 人权使他“最终学会了如何表达自己的进步价值观和对运动建设的热情”, gender equality, and women’s rights advocacy.”
After graduation, Matthew was drawn to the Peace Corps. 他的任务是去柬埔寨，这也是他第一次去东南亚, 这个国家的悲惨历史包括20世纪70年代在残酷的红色高棉统治下的可怕种族灭绝. 这个项目相对来说比较新——他是第二批进入这个国家的和平队志愿者——在接受了一些语言和跨文化技能的培训之后, 年轻的新兵“实际上是被扔进水池的深处，你要么沉没，要么游泳.” Half the cohort left before their two-year stint was up. 马修被安置在小村庄Chhouk，担任教师培训师和青年发展顾问，并被要求与柬埔寨寄宿家庭住在一起，没有空调或自来水. Similar to his own upbringing, 他的寄宿家庭——他逐渐喜欢并尊敬他的家庭——全是女性, this time three generations of them. 通过这些照片，他见证了柬埔寨社会的极端父权制，并近距离地看到了他的男性性别对他日常生活经历的影响和特权. “我一点也不知道，我从寄宿家庭的妇女和农村社区的人们那里学到的教训对我的改变远大于我对他们的改变.
With renewed purpose, Matthew expanded his community projects. In addition to training English teachers, he started an after school enrichment program, a girls’ empowerment camp, 并与当地组织合作，为他所在社区的人们提供种族灭绝教育. His vocal talent came into play as well. 在参加一场高棉婚礼时，他被邀请上台在招待会上唱歌. “当我们村里的客人看到这个笨拙的外国人表演时，他们都疯了. After that, 我很快就以当地高棉婚礼歌手的身份出名，在接下来的两年里，我几乎受邀参加村里的每一场婚礼.”
Fresh from Cambodia, Matthew moved to New York City, crashed on the couch of a close friend from Trinity, 白天在人权观察组织实习，晚上打零工. 两个月后，他在人权观察组织的妇女权利部门找到了一份助理工作, moved into his “matchbox apartment” in Brooklyn, 并与研究人员一起调查世界各地侵犯妇女权利的行为.
Ultimately, 他领导了一个数字和直接响应营销的小团队来建立受众, diversify funding streams, and widen the reach and visibility of the organization’s work. 马修在人权观察的时间巩固了他对妇女权利倡导和性别平等活动的热情. 他还花了三年时间在哥伦比亚大学(Columbia University)夜校攻读人权硕士学位, focusing on women’s economic rights and global economic justice.
“在我工作过的地方，比如柬埔寨，妇女和女孩的韧性, Burundi, 南苏丹激励我在很多方面成为更好的倡导者. These women have faced unspeakable abuses—child marriage, forced labor and sexual violence, 勇敢地站起来，大声疾呼，创造一个更美好的世界. 我从他们每天面对和克服逆境的韧性和意愿中学到了很多.”
Recently, 马修朝着他的最终职业目标迈出了重要的一步:为联合国促进性别平等和增强妇女权能署工作. On June 17, 他加入了联合国妇女和平与安全小组，领导联合国民间社会伙伴关系的沟通和宣传，支持在冲突和危机前线工作的基层妇女组织. 其使命是赋予脆弱环境中的妇女权力，使其有意义地参与预防冲突, respond to humanitarian emergencies, and build lasting peace in their communities from the ground up.
马修说:“我一直相信人类在世界上做好事的能动性和力量. “我很荣幸每天都能成为这场运动的一部分.”
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