"I would like to see a world in which we start to dismantle the structures and systems that oppress people and keep them struggling. I want to reach a world where we celebrate the human dignity of all more fully and consistently, and a world where that is reflected in policy and law.”
Meredith Wilson ’23 joined student government during her freshman year to amplify the voices of her peers. Now a senior, she has taken that mission to heart and worked tirelessly to prevent sexual assault on campus and nationwide through policy and government.
"Upon coming to Notre Dame, I knew that I wanted to get involved in student government. I talked to students whose work was very inspirational and focused on being a force for good. It was that model that inspired my journey to Notre Dame. I loved how service-oriented it was and how everyone wanted to contribute to the world around them. I dove right in.”
After a year of shadowing within the department, Meredith was elected as the Director of Gender Relations for the 2020–2021 term.
As the director, Meredith's primary focus was to explain and publicize new Title IX changes that were released during her term. Meredith organized a town hall with the Title IX offices at Notre Dame, St. Mary's, and Holy Cross. She trained RAs and Welcome-Week Leaders to keep students safe.
"This kind of violence causes so much harm to people. It's something that, if we take small, actionable steps as a campus, we can work to eliminate. It feels like such a horrific problem, but in a lot of ways, it is really solvable.”
The next year, she began a new role as Co-Lead of Female Dorm Liaisons for the Department of University Policy. In addition, Meredith wanted to take what she had learned at Notre Dame and apply it on a broader scale. Interning with the U.S. Department of State within the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs policy office allowed her to do just that.
Being a part of policymaking gave her further insight into how she could make changes for good in the areas that mattered most to her, specifically gender-related issues.
The following summer, she went home and worked with the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault.
"It was an incredible experience. I've found so much passion and energy working in the gender sphere. Getting such an up-close look at the policy made me realize how much I love that side of things.”
Additionally, in the summer of 2022, she was a member of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s inaugural #SheLeads4Peace cohort. Through this program, she traveled to Geneva and participated in an intensive two-week leadership training for women interested in peacebuilding fields.
Now, she is the Deputy Director of Gender Relations for the 2022–2023 school year and a 2022 Truman Scholarship finalist, a prestigious recognition for her work in sexual violence prevention efforts. Meredith plans to pursue public service in the realm of violence prevention.
In addition, she is working on completing her thesis, which combines her passions for anthropology, peace studies, and sexual abuse prevention: Wartime Sexual Violence and Strategic Peacebuilding as a Tactic for Gender-Based Healing.
Through this project, Meredith researches how sexual violence is used as a wartime intimidation tactic. She hopes to provide evidence on how peacebuilding paradigms might be employed to promote gender-based healing after violent conflict.
"I would like to see a world in which we start dismantling the structures and systems that oppress people and keep them struggling. I want to reach a world where we celebrate the human dignity of all more fully and consistently, and where that is reflected in policy and law.”
Through her experiences with Notre Dame and internships, Meredith feels prepared to continue combating inequalities and abuse and bring justice to oppression. In the future, she wants to create policies “for the betterment of human flourishing."
“Notre Dame's desire to do good in this world is so unmatched and unlike anything I had encountered in other institutions. I knew that I shared those same values and aspirations. Coming to Notre Dame has been everything I had hoped for and has helped me become the person I've wanted to be.”
For Now. Forever. For Good.
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