Commitment statement: Josh Christopher is unique because after growing up in various different cultures overseas and being directly subjected to human trafficking, he developed a passion to stop human trafficking and an even bigger passion to save the children who are affected by it. He chose his major and college path because of this passion and has great aspirations for his future to achieve this goal.
A
sophomore International Area Studies major plans to attend law school solely to
represent human traffic victims after growing up around human trafficking.
After growing up overseas directly subjected to human trafficking,
Josh Christopher developed a passion for human traffic victims and high hopes
to spend his future trying to do whatever he can to save them from this lifestyle.
Christopher grew up overseas until the age of 13, with his
dad in the oil business and his mom teaching English. He was born in Ecuador,
then moved to Indonesia and eventually ended up in Southeast Asia where human
trafficking is at its greatest.
After growing up in the environment, Christopher developed a
passion for human traffic victims, especially for children. He explained that
at a very young age he would get off of the plane in Indonesia or Ecuador, and
among the many things that people would be selling, children were the most
valued items being sold at these airports.
“This really captures my heart,” Christopher said. “It
really gives you a different view of the world.”
According to Luis Cdebaca, the Ambassador-at-Large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking has become a
problem in 177 countries now including the United States for the first time.
Christopher hopes to help with prevention and aftercare at the International Justice Mission sometime in his future. Aftercare inaugurates the children back into society after they have been through such an ordeal as human trafficking, and prevention is trying to stop human trafficking in the first place.
Christopher hopes to help with prevention and aftercare at the International Justice Mission sometime in his future. Aftercare inaugurates the children back into society after they have been through such an ordeal as human trafficking, and prevention is trying to stop human trafficking in the first place.
Christopher is a sophomore International Area Studies and
economics major studying the world and global politics. He plans to attend law
school after college and eventually practice law with the mission. This mission’s goal is to stop human trafficking and support human
rights in the name of Christ.
They do big work in Southeast Asia, Christopher said.
“Josh is someone that is kind of different from a lot of other
college students,” Corbin Wallace, a close friend of Christopher’s, said. “A
lot of students go with the flow and just accept things as they come. But Josh
works extremely hard and doesn’t just take the status quo for being what it is.
He’s always willing to push the envelope and work hard.”
Among many different clubs and groups at the University of
Oklahoma, Christopher is involved with The Oklahoma Group and the International
Advisory Committee, which he believes play a role in his future career.
The Oklahoma Group consults for non-profits in the Oklahoma
area. It brings together all different majors and utilizes their skills for
non-profit.
“They teach you while you work,” Christopher said.
The International Advisory Committee oversees all 3,000
foreign students here at OU. Christopher’s role is the American Liaison, who
teaches the students English and about God.
Christopher hopes to utilize these experiences working for non-profit
and working with international students for his future working for the
International Justice Mission representing international children.
