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Hobbies and interests
Chess
Exercise And Fitness
Couponing
French
Gaming
Public Speaking
Social Justice
Weightlifting
Yoga
Advocacy And Activism
Suzanne Lara
475
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/suzanneheadshot6d9f770e4d4446398cd630eaf786e74a.webp)
Suzanne Lara
475
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
Suzanne Lara was born in California and moved with her family to Las Vegas, Nevada, at an early age. She is Mexican-American and the first in her family to graduate from a four-year university. Suzanne graduated with an Associate of Art from the College of Southern Nevada before transferring to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). At UNLV, she received a Bachelor’s in Political Science, with a minor in Philosophy concentrated in Law and Justice. At both institutions, Suzanne founded and led student organizations dedicated to advocacy and empowerment. After receiving her B.A., she completed an internship at Senator Cortez Masto's Constituent Services office where she facilitated providing federal agency assistance to Nevadans. She is currently at the ACLU of Nevada, a legal advocacy nonprofit that strives to defend and protect civil rights and civil liberties, as the Legal Department Coordinator where she assists in the administrative functions of the legal department. Through this role, she has expanded her commitment to public service and furthered her pursuit to practice public interest law in Nevada. She successfully completed UNLV Boyd School of Law's Justice Douglas Pre-Law Fellowship and is an active participant in the law student organization, La Voz's Huellas Mentorship program in preparation for law school. She plans to enter law school in the Fall of 2024.
Education
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)Majors:
- Law
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Political Science and Government
College of Southern Nevada
Associate's degree programMajors:
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Law
Career
Dream career field:
Law Practice
Dream career goals:
Public services
Volunteering
Three Square — Volunteer2022 – 2022Advocacy
Student Education Advocacy Union — Vice-President2019 – 2020Advocacy
UNLV People Power — President2021 – 2022Advocacy
ACLU of Nevada — Legal Department Coordinator2022 – PresentPublic Service (Politics)
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's Constituent Services Office — Constituent Services Intern2022 – 2022
Boun Om Sengsourichanh Legacy Scholarship
My fifth grade teacher, Mr. Campillo, took two gap years to be a teacher in Clark County School District, one of the largest and most impoverished school districts in the nation. He required every student to apply to a magnet middle school and was deeply invested in our future. After teaching, he continued his own journey to Harvard Law to develop his skills and further serve others. Because of him, I was inspired to acknowledge my own privilege and use it to help others. Law school and professional legal experience will afford me a new, wide array of tools to better equip me in assisting others and position me to be an exemplary public servant lawyer.
I aspire to be a public interest lawyer throughout my career after graduating from law school. Right now, I am able to use the education I have received thus far, such as my Associate's and Bachelor's degrees, to attain roles in public service organizations. I am currently a legal administrative professional at a legal advocacy nonprofit, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, where we protect and advance the rights of Nevadans. Through our systemic impact litigation approach, the attorneys on my team shape the law to expand civil rights and civil liberty protections for Nevadans across the state. In my role, I get to assist with basic legal writing, filing cases, and operating all the administrative functions necessary to run the department. While I currently support the individuals who are making a change, my hope is to learn from them and adapt the knowledge and skills I will gain in law school to more directly be part of that change as a Civil Rights Attorney.
Law school will be a stepping stone for me to learn the fundamentals necessary to succeed in the public interest law field. Constitutional law and civil rights litigation courses would surely provide me with foundational knowledge that will set me up for success. Additionally, participating in internships and engaging in law student organization volunteer work will grant me hands-on experience for the role I aspire to fill. Even my position now serves as a learning experience for the future. Law school will amplify the social justice work I am already a part of.
As a Civil Rights Lawyer, I would strive to enhance the protections and attack any threats towards marginalized communities such as immigrants. In my current role, I was selected from my team to write a grant proposal for an Immigrant Rights Attorney at our organization. My proposal was granted and allocated six-figure funding for defending immigrants’ rights in Nevada, ultimately building organizational capacity and fueling a lasting impact on the immigrant community that will supersede even my own time. From personal experience and my on-the-ground community work within my position, I was informed on the needs of the immigrant community. My own parents had migrated to the U.S. from Mexico in pursuit of better opportunities for themselves and their children. Their determination and sacrifices have fueled my educational successes and goal of giving back to the immigrant community. While I was able to have this proposal granted, law school would enable me to fulfill a necessary role as this one. Continuing my education would allow me to give vulnerable communities a voice through litigation and advocacy.