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STUDENT PROFILE
Erika Rivera: President, La Raza Law Student Association, Santa Clara University School of Law, Santa Clara, CA [By Charisse Dengler] For those of you who are unfamiliar with Santa Clara University School of Law’s La Raza Law Student Association, Erika Rivera can inform you. Rivera, who is in her third year at Santa Clara University School of Law, is serving her second year as president of the association.
“La Raza focuses on retaining Latino law
when I am stressed, and they support me in
served the purpose of providing law students
students and creating volunteer opportunities
everything that I do,” she said.
with the black letter law. The law isn’t created
within the surrounding communities that benefit both law students and people who need legal assistance but have no way of paying for it,” Rivera said. “We hold monthly general meetings to check in with our membership and identify problems or concerns that they have regarding their law school experience. Above all, La Raza focuses on being a resource for
In fact, it is her family that Rivera credits for keeping her grounded during law school.
in a societal vacuum, and therefore, we cannot always assume that it is objective.” During her time in law school, Rivera has
“They remind me that I came to law school
interned as a law clerk at Bay Area Legal Aid
to help those that have little access to legal
and served on the President’s Blue Ribbon
services and to change the world just a little,”
Commission for Diversity. She encourages
she said.
students who are interested in doing internships to ask their friends and professors
our current law students, for anyone who is
Rivera, who will be graduating in May 2007 if
thinking about attending law school, and to our
everything goes as planned, is excited about
surrounding communities.”
being a 3L.
Rivera graduated from the University of
“We have folders that hang in the student
California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2002. As an
lounge, and they are divided up by what year
undergrad, she double-majored in political
in school you are. Towards the end of the
science and international development studies.
summer, someone moves the folders to their
Rivera decided to go to law school because she
new location,” she said. “I walked into the
wanted to be able to help improve the quality of
lounge in early August and saw my folder in the
In addition to her internships, Rivera has
life for others and serve her community.
third-year section. I almost cried!”
also gotten involved in activities outside of
“My family and I immigrated to the United
“I am so happy to be in my last year of law
States right before the civil war in El Salvador
school,” she said, “though I guess that means
began. My parents left El Salvador to give me
the bar [exam] is right around the corner.”
and my brothers more opportunities and to provide us with a better life,” she said. “I want to facilitate that possibility for other families. I firmly believe that [in the words of Mexican American labor leader Cesar Chavez] ‘the end of all education should be service to others.’”
In the future, Rivera said she wants to become a solo practitioner and specialize in the area of immigration law or work for a nonprofit organization that serves underserved communities. So far, Rivera’s favorite law school course has
about internship openings and ideas. “My experience has been that you can find internships through research, but most opportunities were brought to my attention through my fellow classmates or professors who know what areas of law I am interested in,” she said.
law school in order to gain some real-world experience before she graduates. “Most of what you learn in law school doesn’t really teach you to be an attorney,” she said. “So, I have made it a point to participate in direct-services clinics and volunteer opportunities. I not only gain experience, but I also am reminded why I came to law school.” ON THE NET
Born in San Salvador, El Salvador, Rivera is
been Critical Race Theory, taught by Professor
Santa Clara University School of Law
the oldest child in her family. She’s also the
Ida Bostian.
www.scu.edu/law
“I loved that class because we discussed racial
Bay Area Legal Aid
issues in conjunction with the legal world,”
www.baylegal.org
first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. “My family is very close-knit, and they are my
she said. “It was one of the few classes where
strongest support system. They calm me down
the plaintiffs weren’t faceless people who just
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La Raza Law Student Association www.laraza-scu.com