Araceli Garcia
"I am so grateful to have access to mentorship from such a diverse and dedicated group of public interest scholars through the Justice Center. I am excited to take advantage of the many opportunities offered through the Justice Center to serve low-income and minoritized communities, and to work with my peers to add to those opportunities!"
Araceli Garcia is the events director for Law Students for Black Lives and is a member of the Justice Center's student advisory board, the Chicano/Hispanic/Latino Law Students Association, the Public Defense Group, and the Public Interest Law Association. She participates in the Mithoff Pro Bono Program's parole packet project, and serves as a law student mentor through Texas Law's Pipeline Program. She has participated in the Immigration Clinic and the Criminal Defense Clinic. She spent the summer after her 1L year working with the Southwest Regional Office of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) primarily on Texas redistricting litigation. The summer after her 2L year, she will work with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative in New Orleans.
Araceli graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Chicanx/Latinx Studies. As an undergraduate, she advocated for undocumented immigrant students’ rights on campus and assisted immigrant families detained at the federal detention center in Karnes, Texas as an intern with RAICES. After college, she was awarded the John Gardner Fellowship for Public Service and partnered with the Intercultural Development Research Association in San Antonio, where she worked to ensure equitable educational opportunities for immigrant and emergent bilingual (English learner) students in Texas. After law school, she plans to continue to serve her community working with a nonprofit organization that serves immigrants and low-income communities in Texas.