Thank you to Equal Justice America for the opportunity to begin my legal career providing trauma-informed immigration services through a fellowship at Ayuda. Lack of access to legal representation remains one of the greatest barriers to acquiring immigration status for too many people in the United States. EJA’s Legal Service Fellowship with Ayuda will increase access to quality representation for low-income immigrants in the DC area.

Patrick Malone, a long-time supporter of Equal Justice America sponsors his own Scholarship Program putting law students to work “Representing Real People” especially those of limited financial means.

I am so thankful to Equal Justice America for the amazing opportunity to work with Legal Aid Chicago to ensure veterans receive the services and benefits they are entitled to after serving their country. By providing such services, Legal Aid Chicago helps veterans navigate the many obstacles that inhibit them from successfully settling back into life at home, such as the VA's bureaucratic processes and housing market's discriminatory attitude towards them. By participating in this crucial work, I am excited to help veterans obtain the services and benefits they need to further their happiness and personal security.

I am thankful to Equal Justice America and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid for creating this fellowship with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. We are at a moment where there is a great need for more effort towards ending family detention. I am honored to serve clients who have endured unbelievable violence and scarring trauma, and have nevertheless had the immense courage to fight for their lives and the lives of their children. I never imagined that I would be presented with such an incredible opportunity fresh out of law school. The importance of the work is not lost on me and I cannot wait to begin what I have been working towards for years.

I grew passionate about youth advocacy while living in Beirut, Lebanon, where I got to know several children working to support their families. These children could not count on a legal system strong enough to counter-balance racial, economic, and security concerns. When I moved back to start at Berkeley Law a couple of years later, I saw a comparable lack of protection for young people in the United States.