San Joaquin College Of Law recently issued the following announcement.
This year's winner of the Hugh Goodwin Bar Scholarship admits many labels apply to her: “First-generation college graduate, Latina, African American, and single mother to name a few.” Raquel Chavez does not fit the traditional profile of an attorney, but remembers meeting one.
“My first memory of an attorney was my father's immigration lawyer, who was helping him 'arreglas sus papeles,' or 'fix his papers.' Lawyers have the power to do those kinds of things. I was in awe of this man. This is why I choose to study law, to have the ability to make momentous changes in the lives of people like my father.”
Unfortunately, her family's experience ended dismally as her father was deported to Mexico during her first semester of college. It drove her to work even harder, attending Fresno City College full-time while holding down two jobs and earning a 4.0 GPA. She became a tutor, a designated note-taker for the Disabled Students Program and Services, and served two semesters as President of the Student Paralegal Association. She eventually transitioned to Fresno State where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science.
Raquel has interned at the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office and hopes to return there someday as an attorney. She says “Fresno has the potential for change and overcoming inequities. I want to dismantle the misconception and dehumanization of indigent clients. Society must understand that they are people deserving of zealous representation and a fair trial.”
She reflects on the legacy of the Scholarship's namesake: “Although Judge Goodwin broke the glass ceiling as the first African American attorney in Fresno, the number of African Americans in the legal field remains small. I seek to broaden the path paved by my predecessors and inspire more underrepresented students to seek a career in the legal field.”
Raquel expresses her appreciation for the $5,000 tuition reduction the Goodwin Scholarship brings, adding “The negative implication of student loan debt has made me apprehensive in pursuing a graduate degree. However, the effects of going to law school are tenfold for my son and future generations.”
Original source can be found here.
Source: San Joaquin College Of Law
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