The Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois (HLSF) will recognize nine UIC Law students next month at its May 10, 2022 scholarship reception, hosted at Barnes & Thornburg’s Chicago office. The 2022 UIC Law recipients represent the largest group of awardees from the law school in recent years.
Established in 1996, the HLSF partners with law firms, corporations and individual donors to provide annual financial support to Latino law students. Past awardees have become leaders of the organized Latino bar and in other community organizations.
UIC Law’s 2022 scholarship recipients include:
3L Jacqueline Hernandez, the 2022 Goldberg Kohn Ltd. Scholarship winner and a member of the May 2022 graduating class, plans to pursue a career as a trial attorney in the public service sector at the state and federal level after passing the bar.
3L Jacquelin Nunez, also a graduating member of the May 2022 class, is the 2022 Hon. Linda Perez Scholarship winner. After passing the bar, she will prepare to attend Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, this September.
2L Jazmin Alvarez, the 2022 Locke Lord LLP Scholarship winner, intends to build her career advocating on behalf of marginalized communities and advancing racial and social justice initiatives in Chicago. This summer, she will continue her legal studies and working as the Director of Constituent Services with the Office of Congresswoman Robin Kelly.
2L Vianey Cabrales is both the 2021 and the 2022 McDonald’s Scholarship winner and a part-time, first-generation law student. A full-time legal assistant with McDonald’s Corp, Ms. Cabrales will spend this summer at McDonald’s focusing on data privacy and labor and employment issues. She plans to use her law degree to advance the interests of Latinos, women, and underserved communities at large.
2L Cesar Munoz, the 2022 Barnes and Thornburg LLP Scholarship winner, intends to advocate for the intellectual property rights of pioneers in the arts and sciences to promote a marketplace where creativity and innovation can flourish. He’s working in the Chicago office of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP as a Summer Associate in the IP Litigation practice group.
2L Elizabeth Serrano, the 2022 McAndrews, Held & Malloy Scholarship winner and a part-time evening student, currently works as a full-time trademark paralegal with Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP. She’s also accepted a summer internship to do immigration work with Beyond Legal Aid.
2L Mariana Zapata, a part-time student and the 2022 Enora Scholarship winner, is a full-time litigation assistant with Patton & Ryan, LLC, where she’ll continue this summer. Ms. Zapata is an aspiring estate-planning attorney who is also interested in providing pro bono legal services for under-served communities.
1L Alexis Hernandez, the 2022 Ackerman LLP Scholarship winner, intends to build a career in public service, and she’s well on her way. Before law school, Ms. Hernandez worked on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and as a paralegal with the Department of Justice. This summer, she will work at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund performing litigation work.
1L Camila LeMaster Esquivel, the 2022 Sheppard Mullin Scholarship winner, intends to advocate for immigrant communities as an immigration attorney. A first-generation law student, Ms. LeMaster Esquivel will spend her summer working as a law clerk at Fragomen in Chicago.
In 2022, UIC Law students took home nine of the 26 scholarships awarded by HLSF—the largest group of UIC Law awardees in recent years—and they join good company.
In 2021, Maryfer Galindo (JD 2021), now a Judicial Law Clerk with the U.S. Department of Justice, was awarded the Schiff Hardin LLP Scholarship, and 2L Diana Meza, currently a Law Clerk with Kogut & Wilson, won the 2021 BP America Inc. Scholarship as a first-year student.
In 2020, Jerrilyn Gumila (JD 2021), then a 2L, won the Schiff Hardin LLP Scholarship. Ms. Gumila was named a Sprague Award recipient in 2021 and is now an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
In 2019, Jessica OCampo (JD 2019) won the Seyfarth Shaw LLP Scholarship as a third-year student. That same year, she served as President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, Law Student Division. Since graduation, Ms. OCampo has become Associate Corporate Counsel at Sprout Social, Inc. and Commissioner of the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights & Responsibilities.
