Outgoing, passionate and driven are three adjectives friends and family would use to describe Seton Hall student Cynthia Sularz, who is traveling around the world alongside the G(irls) 20 Summit. According to the organization’s website, G(irls) 20’s mission is to advance the full participation of girls and women globally through their economic and educational empowerment.
In the summer and fall of her junior year, Sularz has traveled from Australia to Poland, Russia and Germany to encourage girls from each country participate in a variety of workshops with companies such as Google and Bain & Co.
According to Sularz, these workshops lead up to a two day summit in which experts such as Hannah Godefa, the UNICEF goodwill ambassador for Ethiopia, and David Morrison, a lieutenant general in the Australian Army, speak on a variety of panels.
“After (the summit), the experts spent the next day writing a communique for the G20 leaders on how to economically empower women,” Sularz said. “This communique was presented in the next week to Josh Frydenberg, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Tony Abbott by the Australian delegate Anna Wiseman. G(irls)20 then works with the delegates to create their own initiatives, reach out to companies, and continue their careers and thus lead a new generation of men and women all working toward the greater goal of equality.”
In her travels to Nerekhta, Russia, Sularz spent two months teaching English to children through sports and other camp activities. Currently the SHU student is studying in Freiburg, Germany, through International Education of Students (IES) Abroad.
“My classes are completely in German and range from intensive language classes to environmental business in Freiburg to the European Union’s integration process,” Sularz said. “All throughout this I have been filming and interviewing a variety of women from the United States who I have met on my travels for one of my G(irls)20 awareness projects. My work with G(irls)20 is far from over and I look forward to working with the organization throughout the up and coming spring semester.”
Though Sularz is currently studying in Germany, she said her favorite country to work in was Australia.
“To be honest, that’s mainly because of the amazing delegates I had the honor of working with at G(irls)20,” Sularz said. “Those girls mean the world to me.”
Sularz also dealt with conflict during her travels in Russia, which she said helped her to inspire others and put things into perspective.
“Because of the cultural differentiations (in Russia) there were major issues concerning appropriate workplace behavior. There was a conflict between me and my original partner at the camp in Russia which resulted in me petitioning for him to be removed from the camp. It was a difficult struggle but at the end he was fired for ‘inappropriate behavior toward women and the girls of the camp.”
“This resulted in a variety of issues with the staff members because his behavior was seen by many of the other male counselors as ‘culture,’” Sularz continued. “But during my last week of working one of the other female staff members sat me down and thanked me. She told me she had suffered from a similar situation on a much more drastic scale and did not know that justice could be served against individuals who sexually harass and even abuse others within the workplace.
“She told me it gave her hope and to this day it’s been pushing me to do better and to ensure that no other girl feels as helpless as I and my co-worker felt. It was an extremely difficult but rewarding two months that also helped to put into perspective, which people back at home would support me when things were difficult.”
Describing her time with G(irls)20 as the greatest experience of her life thus far, Sularz encourages students to both get involved with the organization and to also study abroad.
“I know too many seniors whose greatest regret is that they didn’t study abroad,” said Sularz. “I know it’s terrifying to move from culture to culture but it really puts your life into perspective. If you are even considering studying abroad, I recommend you fill out that application right now and try to be as alive as any moment will allow.”
Now 20, Sularz has already accomplished a great deal in her life. Her friends and family credit her success to her outgoing personality and passion for what she does.
“Cynthia has such a bubbly and outgoing personality that shines no matter who she is with or what she is doing,” said junior Brittany Kowalski, her former roommate. “She doesn’t take no for an answer and never backs down from a challenge which has made her enormously successful being abroad thus far.”
“What makes her successful and stand out is her passion for what she is doing,” said junior Angelo Piro, co-president of Model UN and fellow member of Slavic Club with Sularz. “Her involvement abroad and on campus all come from a real love for what she does, whether it’s promoting women’s empowerment, working with our Model UN team or talking anime.”
Cynthia’s mother, Sophie Sularz, said Cynthia stands out from other students because of her maturity and ability to always put her dreams and future first.
“(Cynthia is successful) because she is open, honest and always speaks her mind. She respects other people’s opinions even if they are different than hers, and always invests herself in researching and thinking about something before acting. She tries to make things better for everyone, especially (now) the women and children around the world.”
Erica Szczepaniak can be reached at erica.szczepaniak@student.shu. edu.
