�鶹ӰԺ

Serene Singh isn’t working toward a career—she’s working toward a movement.

A senior studying journalism and political science, her mission is distinct: to help others develop the same sense of confidence and courage that propels her into uncharted territory.

“I believe so recklessly and relentlessly in my dreams,” she said while speaking at a CU �鶹ӰԺ NEXT event in Denver last January.

This year, Singh became the first woman in university history and the first CU �鶹ӰԺ student in 25 years to earn a Rhodes Scholarship to attend graduate school at Oxford University in England. She’s also a Colorado Boettcher Scholar and the winner of a Truman Scholarship, granted to college students who show a commitment to public service leadership.

“Her leadership skills are rooted in the notion of helping others rise along with her, which I deeply admire,” says Assistant Professor Ross Taylor, who has taught Singh in several of his journalism classes.

Singh began her college career as a political science major to prepare for law school. After taking a video editing class with Taylor, she added journalism as a major. She found that classes on video editing and visual storytelling gave her technical skills to back up her natural strengths—a lesson she first learned as a head editor of Rampart High School’s weekly student newscast, KRAM.

“I had to tap into my strengths at that time and say, ‘I don’t really know how to edit, I don’t know programs, but I do know public speaking. I do know how to write a good story. I do know how to phrase things in a way that make sense to the heart,’” says Singh, who grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

In and out of class, Singh has leveraged her interests—from journalism to political science to public speaking—to forge her own path. In doing so, she’s found ways to support others, as well.

In 2012, Singh, who is Sikh American and whose parents are from India, founded the Colorado Bhangra dance team with two other students. Later, she founded the Serenity Project, a nonprofit that aims to build confidence in young women through beauty pageants and mentorship.

Her experiences building inclusive spaces, especially for women and ethnic and religious minorities, have influenced her worldview. In summer 2016, while interning with Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., in Washington, D.C., she noticed that policies designed to help women in need often lack representation or contributions from the groups they’re geared toward.

“I was constantly going to briefings about foster care, about education, about domestic abuse, about human trafficking,” she says. “I noticed, whenever they were talking about women’s issues, very few times were women in the room.”

Singh, who also serves as chief justice of the CU Student Government, ultimately hopes to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“No American of South Asian heritage has sat on the nation’s highest court,” she says. “I want our government to look more like our country in every single sense of the word.”