ASU Alumni — Founders’ Day
Sambo “Bo” Dul — Young Alumni Achievement Award
Founders’ Day is Arizona State University’s signature event in recognition of the university founders, leaders of the effort to create an institution that has become the nation’s largest public research university and holds the unique distinction of being ranked №1 in innovation for three consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. Founders’ Day showcases ASU faculty, alumni and philanthropists who embody the pioneering spirit of those who helped establish the university, and exemplify how the university continues to evolve into a New American University, an educational institution that advances research, champions discovery of public value and assumes fundamental responsibility for the communities it serves.
Arizona State University annually celebrates the vision and contributions of the founders of the institution. This signature event has taken place since 1964 and is a tradition known as Founders’ Day. ASU faculty, staff, alumni and advocates who exemplify the pioneering and innovative spirit of ASU’s founders are honored with excellence-in-achievement awards at Founders’ Day.
Founders’ Day is celebrated each year in February or March to coincide with the first day of classroom instruction at the original Territorial Normal School at Tempe on Feb. 8, 1886.
Sambo “Bo” Dul
Counsel | Perkins Coie LLP
Arizona State University: ’05 BA political science, ’05 BS economics, ’05 BA Spanish | ’05 Summa cum laude | ’05 Phi Beta Kappa
Arizona State University three-degree, summa cum laude graduate Sambo “Bo” Dul is the 2018 recipient of the Founders’ Day Young Alumni Achievement Award.
“Every so often in life you come across a truly transformative person, a person so good and so smart that the best thing you can do is stand in awe,” says Paul Eckstein, partner at Perkins Coie, where Bo is counsel in the firm’s Political Law Group. “I stand in awe of Bo Dul every day.”
From a refugee camp on the Thai-Cambodian border, Bo made her journey to Arizona with her mother and three siblings when she was just five years old — fleeing the aftermath of the brutal Khmer Rouge genocide. Upon her graduation from ASU, she earned her MPA at Princeton and her JD from the New York University School of Law.
In addition to her work at Perkins Coi, Bo is a leading advocate in the community. She recently launched the Phoenix Legal Action Network (PLAN), which is working to increase access-to-justice and pro bono legal services and providing strategic support to community-based organizations advancing social justice in Arizona. Further reflections of her commitment to providing solutions to legal-service gaps in the greater Phoenix area include her service on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and her pro bono work with the International Rescue Committee and the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project. She has also served as a regional refugee coordinator for Amnesty International USA and its legislative coordinator for Arizona.
“Fill your days with work you care about and that interests you,” she advises. “Surround yourself with people who inspire and encourage you, and try to find joy in small things. Be kind, both to yourself and others.”
Learn more about Founders’ Day here.
