Growing up, I knew what it meant to live at the mercy of a landlord. My mom and I have spent years in dingy apartments, dealing with landlords who treated us as disposable. Repairs went ignored, rents increased without warning, and when we dared push back, we were met with intimidation. I quickly learned that tenants - especially those who are low income, immigrants, or monolingual Spanish speakers - are often taken advantage of simply because the landlords expect them to roll over and accept their mistreatment. This reality shaped my passion for housing rights, and it is the reason I am pursuing a career in eviction defense. I was raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to provide for me, and despite the challenges we faced, I became the first in my family to graduate college. My lived experiences have given me a deep understanding of the struggles tenants face and the systemic issues that keep them vulnerable. Throughout law school, I committed myself to tenant advocacy, working with organizations dedicated to fighting for housing rights. My summer at the Housing Rights Center reinforced how critical legal aid is in holding bad landlords accountable, and my time at my law school’s Eviction Defense Clinic solidified my desires to stand between tenants and displacement. After law school, I will continue this work of advocating for tenants, as I have accepted an offer as a post-bar fellow at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles in their eviction defense program. My early career will be focused on eviction defense, and I will eventually transition to going on the offensive by suing bad landlords. My long-term goal is to build a career in housing rights litigation, using the law as a tool to protect tenants and fight back against those who exploit them. I want to advocate for the most vulnerable - people like my mother, my neighbors, and countless others who deserve to live in dignity without fear or retaliation or eviction. This scholarship would provide me with critical financial support as I begin my career in public interest law. More than that, it would be a validation of the work I have dedicated myself to: standing up for tenants who might otherwise have no one in their corner. I am committed to using my legal education to bring justice to those who need it most, and I would be honored to receive this support in furthering that mission.