Natalie Hutson
B.A., magna cum laude, Sociology, with departmental honors, 2022
Program Assistant, the Service Board (tSB), Seattle
“The most important part of civility is to always recognize and respect the humanity of any person that you engage with, even when that person chooses to dehumanize others. ”
Service & Work:
Volunteer, Childhaven, Fall Quarter 2019
Crossroads Trading Co., December 2018–April 2019
Awards & Honors:
Henry Hawking Award for Anthropology & Sociology
Alfie Scholars Cohort 5, 2020–2022
Bellarmine Scholarship, 2018–2022
Presentations & Publications:
Rationale for the Arguments to Defund or Abolish the Police in America, Natalie Hutson, Seattle University, August 2020.
Natalie’s Story
Throughout my life many people have been surprised by me. I suppose the way that I speak, and act has never seemed to fit the mold that people design for me. I have, from the time I was a young child, been told that I am an old soul, that I speak so eloquently and am mature for me age, and that I think about the world in a unique way. I am most often flattered by the compliments, albeit not very good at receiving them, but I do wonder why there is so much shock.
Ever since I was young, I’ve found I have a very strong sense of fairness and gave great weight to its importance in my life. At the age of five I could not understand when I witnessed or experienced things that seemed unfair to me and would thus question them. It is logical that as I got older, I would become interested in social justice or, more accurately, social injustice. I guess it was the inner sociologist in me that was curious about and critical of society and the dominant script we were all expected to follow. There have been times when I have succumbed to the pressures of societal normality (I came into college as a nursing major, believing that job security was more important that studying what I was passionate about), but I find that I am most whole when I am critically thinking, observing, and questioning the things around me that we are taught to ignore.
If I were to identify a purpose of my life, it would be to always be impatient for knowledge and open to growth and to nurture the desire to learn and change in others. I have the tremendous privilege and opportunity to cultivate my own journey of discovery, both of myself and of the world, through the Alfie Scholars Program and at Seattle University. I will use the invaluable skills in leadership, critical thinking and problems solving, learning, and many others that I gain from this time to make the world a more equitable and empathetic place for those whose lives have been severely undervalued.
It is easy to get discouraged seeing all the pain and suffering that exists in the world and hearing to stories of what people have endured. Many people want to make the world a better place, but large-scale change is difficult and complicated. Making a single person’s life better is powerful thing and vastly important. Whatever career you choose you can impact people in ways that, though they may seem small to you, could be major for someone else. Rather than seeking notoriety, try to find fulfillment in the moments when you see the beauty of the human experience.
Goals:
As I have always found myself consumed by my passion for and commitment to equity and social justice, my goal is to deepen my understanding of societal and systemic inequality through my education and work in collaboration with others to find creative and dynamic solutions that foster equity and uplift underrepresented communities. I am impatient for change and angry at the slow speed at which equality through equity is accepted by people and the growing lack of civility in our society. I hope to get degrees in sociology and law and do public policy research into how our societal framework and cultural values have been shaped and in turn shape us and our behavior as humans. My overarching goal is to never stop learning and growing as a person and to encourage and help others do the same. I want to lead positive change in the world I am a citizen of.
On Civility:
It is a misconception that civility means being calm and polite in all situations. The most important part of civility is to always recognize and respect the humanity of any person that you engage with, even when that person choses to dehumanize others. Civility is not mutually exclusive with passion and conflict and does not exclude the ability to have emotional reactions to difficult topics. It is centered in being able to understand ourselves, our beliefs, biases, triggers, ect. and to constantly acknowledge the ways we can interact with others from an understanding that we are all people with unique experiences and backgrounds that shape our humanity.
