Suffolk Law student Caroline Conway made a public service commitment to former President Bill Clinton after a proposal she wrote to help raise awareness of human trafficking won her a chance to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University meeting in February.

Conway’s proposal advocated for educational models for local youth to raise awareness about the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children.

Since his presidency ended in 2001, Clinton has helped millions around the globe through his nonprofit Clinton Global Initiative. The Clinton Global Initiative University meeting Conway attended focused on real solutions to global challenges and consisted of panel discussions, workshops, and other sessions designed to help students bring their proposals to life.

“The experience was great, with thought-provoking panels on a variety of progressive topics,” says Conway. “I was so happy to be selected, and I’m very motivated to take action with the knowledge that CGI U thought my proposal was worth supporting.”

Conway has since launched the Shamatha Campaign against Sex Trafficking, a fund-raising and outreach project based on her proposal. Shamatha is a form of Buddhist meditation. She is setting up a Web site and planning her first fundraiser.

Conway’s concern about human trafficking first crystallized last fall when she took Professor Kate Nace Day’s course, International Human Rights: A Women’s Model. Conway later organized a screening and discussion of The Day My God Died, a documentary on Nepalese women and children being sold into sexual slavery. The response from the Suffolk University Law School community sparked the inspiration for her CGI U proposal.

“I started getting e-mail from people asking if they could donate and help out,” she said. “It made me think, if we can get that response just at Suffolk, what happens if we reach out?”