ASU alum's humanities background led to fulfilling job with the governor's office
Arizona State University alumna Sambo Dul speaks to students during Humanities Week. Photo courtesy of the School of International Letters and Cultures
As a student, Arizona State University alumna Sambo Dul was a triple major in Spanish, political science and economics. After graduating, she leveraged the skills she cultivated in college — including while studying for a humanities degree in the School of International Letters and Cultures — to build a successful career in law and policy.
Dul now serves as general counsel in the Office of Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, where she combines her expertise in creating policy and her law degreeShe did a joint-degree program at New York University School of Law and Princeton University and received a JD and a Master of Public Administration..
“I wanted to be able to meld both, and I've always kind of had an interdisciplinary approach to the way I think about things and it just made sense for me,” Dul said.
During her first year at ASU, Dul majored in biology but quickly realized her true interest lay in political science. She eventually added majors in both economics and Spanish, graduating in just four years with three undergraduate degrees. She also had the opportunity to study abroad in Alicante, Spain, where she took Spanish courses, and in Bangkok, where she completed an economics program.
Sambo first started studying Spanish in middle school and continued through high school. She grew up in Arizona, and the large Spanish-speaking community and commonality across immigrant communities sparked her continued interest in the language.
Dul’s family background inspired her passion for language, law and policy. As the daughter of a single mother who came to Arizona as a refugee from Cambodia, Dul developed a strong interest in immigration issues and other policy issues.
“We dealt with a number of immigration issues as I was growing up. And my mom didn’t speak a lot of English; neither did my older siblings,” Dul said.
Being the first person in her family to go to college and pursue higher education was tough for Dul because she had to figure everything out independently. It was also challenging to balance her studies with the responsibility to financially support her family and help them adapt to life in the United States. From a very young age, Dul handled her family’s immigration paperwork, a role that contributed to her interest in law and public policy.
While attending language and humanities classes at ASU's School of International Letters and Cultures, Dul developed valuable skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information and apply it to specific problems.
“That was a key component of a humanities education and a critical skill that I use every day in my job now,” she said.
As general counsel, Dul serves as the chief legal advisor to the governor and is involved in various areas of the governor's office, including overseeing the legal team, interpreting state and federal laws, advising the governor and senior leadership on those laws and overseeing litigation, the drafting of executive orders and the judicial appointment process.
Before becoming general counsel, Dul served as the state elections director in the secretary of state’s office. In her current role, she oversees a variety of initiatives and remains committed to ensuring that Arizona elections remain free and fair, and that democracy functions.
“So I continue to work on those issues, but from this different role of the governor's office,” Dul said.
Other initiatives Dul is involved in include protecting water resources, which are vital to Arizona’s community and economy.
“That’s a big legal issue and priority that’s being worked on in the governor's office,” Dul said.
Dul says she also works with other state agencies that Arizonans rely on, such as the Department of Economic Security and the Department of Health Services.
“I just became very interested in the way law and policy works and how it affects people's lives, including the lives of families like my own, and how we can make it work better for people. I get to do that every day from this position in the governor's office, and this was exactly what I wanted to do,” Dul said.
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