Arizona State University has announced its new student organization to begin in the spring, launching its Pre-Law Latinx Student Association to empower and bring youth outreach among the community with the help of professionals in the legal community.
With the advisement of current professor at the Sandra Day O'Conner College of Law, Charles Calleros, PLLSA is focused on careers in the legal field but will also provide professional development opportunities.
The overall goal is for members of the organization to network for their future and eventually gain admission into an accredited law school.
"I decided to start this organization because there's really nothing like it at ASU," President of PLLSA Guadalupe Durazo said.
After attending a couple of Black Undergraduate Law Society events, she became inspired by the opportunities that Black students were being provided on a personal level.
"I wanted to open that up to Latinx students as well," Durazo said.
Durazo is a senior studying Justice Studies with a minor in Spanish from Sahuarita, AZ.
"I am a Latina who plans on attending law school. I've had many, many, mentors throughout my time here at ASU and I want to ensure that other students get the same opportunity. " she said.
When beginning her collegiate career, she was surprised by how much she enjoyed advocating for indigent populations and their intersections with the criminal justice system.
At the age of 14, her mother enrolled her in a summer internship program where she was exposed to the court system and believed she had chosen her major solely from growing up around it.
Yessenia Acosta Terrazas, Vice President of PLLSA, is also eager for the student organization to kick off in January 2020.
Born and raised in Yuma, AZ, Terrazas is pursuing concurrent degrees in Justice Studies and Political Science with a minor in Spanish with the main goal to one day advocate for the Latino community, specifically immigrants.
As the executive board leaders work closely together toward their professional dreams, they realized that many students interested in law school had to discover their answers by themselves.
"Speaking to other classmates, we realized that there was not much guidance on-campus in regards to law school," Terrazas said.
This student organization will function as a biweekly-meeting association, with events to create mentorship programs and host opportunities to create a foundation for any student or attorney who is interested in joining.
These will vary from panels with current law students, professionals in the legal community (especially attorneys), LSAT and law school application preparation, guest speakers, and professional development (resume building, internship searches, interview techniques, etc.).
As Calleros has experience working with the Chicano/Latino Law Students Association, Los Abogados (Hispanic attorneys in Arizona) and the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), this organization can easily follow a similar effective structure to these organizations.
Both students believe that Calleros has over exceeded their expectations on the amount of support and commitment to the organization that has yet to bloom. With HNBA's regional president in Phoenix and mid-year conference being hosted March 2020 in Phoenix, his network could potentially sky-rocket the progress to come in these student's futures.
From programs reaching down to middle and high school in law-related youth outreach programs, these organizations, all of these organizations are open to students and attorneys of any ethnicity, but they frequently focus on issues of interest to the Hispanic community,
The executive board awaits the spring to come and for this community to make a difference in the lives of those who plan to follow their dreams alongside them.
"I hope that students in this organization are inspired to work hard in their undergraduate studies to prepare for the challenges of being accepted to law school and succeeding in that demanding course of study," Calleros said.
