Throughout my undergraduate experience, I had the opportunity to learn the theories of Sociology and Psychology. I graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington with a bachelors in Sociology. Throughout my law school career I have continued to engage in theory-based classes. I have written a number of academic papers many of which deal with questions of social justice.

Through English Language Learner tutoring I have developed interpersonal skills in dealing with diverse populations. I have lead class discussions and provided personal tutoring to individuals in first-level English classes, with students including adults in a community center class as well as high school students. At first, the language barriers made it difficult for me to create a personal relationship with the students and to foster relationships between them. I felt like creating these relationships was very important, especially in the high school classroom where a few of the students were the only individuals at the school who spoke their native language. I took advantage of any opportunities to learn from the students about their past experiences and their thoughts on the world. I used review work with small groups to foster relationships between the students. Several times our discussions lead us to discover completely unexpected, but relevant, information about individual students.

During my second year of law school, I participated in the Race and Justice clinic where I worked with on the school exclusion team assisting high school students who have been suspended or expelled to get back into school. We taught several legal rights workshops to students both at detention facilities and in high schools. We also represented high school students in school exclusion hearings. Interviewing these students while studying critical race theory provided me with a deeper understanding of the school to prison pipeline and the effect that race has on the way an individual is perceived and treated in our society.

I also had the opportunity to intern at Human Rights Law Network in New Delhi, India. While in India I had the opportunity to observe social justice issues in a new culture. I worked with advocates and attorneys to draft fact-findings and public interest litigation to the Delhi High Court. I worked on issues including open defecation, acid attacks, surrogacy, and availability of blood banks. It was emotionally taxing work but I think it's important to acknowledge the extreme extent of human suffering constantly occurring throughout the world. Seeing it first hand was an extremely humbling experience.