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ChrisSantanaFirstEssay 3 - 26 Apr 2018 - Main.ChrisSantana
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> | OLD DRAFT, PLEASE SCROLL BELOW PROFESSOR MOGLEN'S RED COMMENTS FOR FINAL DRAFT | | | -- By ChrisSantana - 01 Mar 2018 | | |
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> | If Not Gang Banging, Then What?
Growing up, I believed that my only realistic options in life were either working a minimum wage job or dropping out of school and joining a gang like my brother. After nearly losing my life in a gang-related incident, I began to examine why my neighborhood was infested with violence, drugs, and poverty. I asked myself if I deserved this reality because of my parents’ lack of education or their undocumented immigration status. I felt trapped and began searching for an exit. When I witnessed my brother, a convicted felon, struggle to find employment without a high school diploma, I realized that pursuing higher education was my only option to create a better future for my family, community, and myself. I embraced the value of hard work and resourcefulness that my parents instilled in me and enrolled in a local community college in pursuit of my associate’s degree.
Achieving Justice in College
While at Rio Hondo College, I became committed to supporting underserved individuals like myself, by working to reduce barriers that prevent many of us from completing a post-secondary education. As the Vice President of student government, I spearheaded a project that provided low-income students with a daily free meal to ensure they could remain engaged in class. Because of my unwavering commitment to my college community and academics, I graduated with honors and was admitted into the University of California at Berkeley as a junior.
At Berkeley, I majored in Political Science because of my appreciation and passion for proper political and legal representation among vulnerable communities of color. This passion stemmed from helping my parents navigate the immigration and criminal justice system in the U.S. For example, some of the most fulfilling experiences of my life was helping my mother complete her application for a green card and helping my parents respond to notices and other legal documentation because they could not write or read English.
In addition, I utilized my education to assist asylum seekers with various aspects of the asylum application process through a nonprofit immigration law office in Berkeley. My most rewarding experience at the sanctuary was preparing a client from El Salvador for his asylum interview. After a successful interview, our client was granted asylum and was able to secure employment in Northern California. Learning about the horrific adversities he overcame and witnessing his strength to persevere fueled my passion to continue working with asylum seekers.
Trying to Achieve Justice After College
Since graduating from Berkeley, I remained passionately committed to serving immigrant communities. While working at a BigLaw firm in Los Angeles, I worked alongside attorneys to request asylum for two young boys from El Salvador. After assisting with research for the asylum application and serving as the translator during the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services interview, the two boys were granted asylum. Their new immigration status gives them the opportunity to live safe and successful lives in the U.S. which was not a possibility in their hometown.
I also worked with a team to assist an undocumented pro bono client get out of jail and avoid deportation. With our help, he was released from jail with the freedom to remain in the U.S. He was reunited with his family and able to spend the holidays at home instead of a jail cell.
As Columbia Law School student, I have been influenced into a career in BigLaw for the supposed money, prestige, and pro bono work. I convinced myself that working for a BigLaw firm is beneficial because it will provide me with invaluable training but it might not be the training that I want or need to achieve my long-term goals.
After working at two BigLaw firms, I have become aware of the training they offer. The clients I was working for were almost always corporations and when they were not, I was working on pro bono matters. However, being able to work on pro bono matters and bill sufficient hours to please my superiors was almost impossible to achieve without me being exhausted from working 12 to 15-hour days, including weekends.
What Now?
Throughout my young adult life, I have used my success and knowledge to empower people of color and want to continue to pursue opportunities that enable me to empower my community via our legal system. Whenever I speak with my brother over the phone, he reminds me of the ways the criminal justice system affected him and that some of our childhood friends are still behind bars. My brother was unfortunately not the only one around me that was a victim of the criminal justice system when I was growing up in Pomona. I am certain that I want to pursue a career that in involves me helping victims of our criminal justice system in some capacity. | | |
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