Scholar Entries - Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois

← Go back

EmailEmail hidden; Javascript is required.

Are you a past recipient of an Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund award?

Name

Angelica Aranda

Current Mailing Address

900 Crane Drive
N200A
DeKalb, IL 60115
United States
Map It

If mailing address is temporary, expected date when current mailing address is no longer valid

05/15/2026

Permanent Address (only if different from Current Mailing Address)

4425 Vernon Ave
Apt 1F
Brookfield, IL 60513
United States
Map It

Phone

(847) 454-6650

Connection to Illinois

Born and raised in Illinois. Planning to continue to live here and take the 2028 Illinois Bar Exam

In what city do you intend to practice law upon graduation?

Anywhere in Cook or DuPage County

Name of Law School

Northern Illinois Univeristy College of Law

Class year

1st year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

08/12/2025

Anticipated Graduation Date

05/15/2028

Current GPA

2.958

Name of Undergraduate Institution

University of Iowa

Degree (BA, BSE, etc.) and Concentration/Major

BA Criminology, Law, and Justice

Undergraduate Graduation Date

05/18/2025

GPA

3.52

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

University Honors, Human Rights Certificate, Advantage Iowa Scholar, National Scholars Award, First-Year Honors Rhodes Dunlap Award, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Dean’s List: Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024

Were you employed in 2025?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

Intern - The Law Offices of Christopher D. Edmonds, LTD., Westchester, IL
Intern - Vondra Law Office, PLC., North Liberty, IA
Assistant Pool Manager - Woods Pool, Burr Ridge, IL.

What was your immediate family’s (including you and your spouse or domestic partner, if applicable) estimated income from all sources for the 2025 Tax Year?

6,000

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

currently applying for summer internships

Please estimate your immediate family’s (including you and your spouse or domestic partner, if applicable) income from all sources for the 2026 Tax year

6,000

Please estimate your parent's average annual household income over the last five years

70,000

Do your parents own or rent their home? Please describe, if necessary

rent

Describe your parents' health insurance situation. Do they have employer-sponsored health insurance, health insurance through the exchange, or no health insurance?

employer sponsored health insurance

LIST below your total EXPENSES for attending law school for ONE YEAR (Please refer to example in FAQs)

Total Tuition Cost $

17,376

Books Cost $

2,500

Fees Cost $

8,216

Housing Cost $

13,700

Food Cost $

3,500

Other Costs $ (describe)

1,000 for Emotional Suport Animal

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

46,283

LIST below your total FUNDING sources you plan to use to pay for these expenses (Please refer to example in FAQs)

Student Loans $

28,033

Scholarships and Grants $

13,032

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

2,700

Family Contribution $ (include parents, spouse, partner, etc.)

2,500

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

46,265

For 2Ls and 3Ls, what is your current TOTAL loan debt from the previous law school years?

n/a - current 1L

Please list any community service activities with which you have been involved in the last ten years, paying particular attention to activities in support of the Hispanic community. For each activity, please include the dates of your participation, a short description of the organization and the community they serve, and a description of the activity you performed to help them. (Please read FAQs before completing)

Legal Intern at Vondra Law PLC (March 2024 - May 2025). The majority of cases at Vondra Law are for immigration, servicing immigrants in both Iowa and Illinois. My day to day at the law firm was working with a client base that was mainly Hispanic indiviudals and families, seeking residency or other forms of immigration relief. I had the opportunity to work on these immigration matters and assist the attorneys with translations during client meetings to speak in Spanish to them, translating their documents or their testimonies, and preparing motions for their cases. Through this, I worked one on one with Spanish speaking clients to ensure their story was heard and that they would fully understand their legal protections.

Please provide a statement describing your background and focus your statement on your reasons for pursuing a legal career and your legal career goals. This statement is important. Please give it appropriate attention. (min. 1000 characters) (Please read FAQs before completing)

Growing up, my mom always told me the phrase "echale ganas" because anything is possible if you try your best. As a daughter of immigrant parents, I learned from a young age what a strength it is to be able to speak up for yourself. I watched my mother navigate the immigration system when she could not always understand everything in English and face discrimination in airports or grocery stores because of her accent. Often, I witnessed her frustration not being able to find the words in English, but she was resilient and determined to get her U.S. citizenship. During this process, I would find myself helping her translate documents and even helping her study for the citizenship test. Through this, I learned that Latinos not only need greater access to justice but moreover need to be able to understand the law and how it works.

Watching my mother go through the citizenship process was one of the most formative experiences of my life and started my passion for advocacy. What seems like a straightforward process to becoming a citizen was confusing with all the different forms and overwhelming with high stakes. My mother was lucky enough to have a female attorney helping her prep her paperwork and guiding her through her studying for the citizenship exam. I vividly remember going to her office and seeing how comfortable my mother was talking to her and explaining all of her questions and concerns. This experience stayed with me and shaped me to aspire to be an attorney like her.

As a first-generation college and law student, my journey to higher education was not always clear. Just like many other children of immigrants, I pursue my own goals while also honoring my family’s sacrifices. Navigating higher education often felt like being in a new place with no directions or resources. However, these challenges taught me resilience, adaptability, and the importance of advocating for myself and others even when the process feels intimidating or inaccessible.

Seeking to better understand how the law affects real people and what advocacy can look like with Spanish speakers, I pursued opportunities to work directly with the immigrant community. From March 2024 through May 2025, I interned at Vondra Law Firm PLC, where I worked primarily on immigration cases serving clients throughout Iowa and Illinois. The firm’s clients were largely Hispanic individuals and families seeking permanent residency and other forms of immigration relief. During my time there, I worked closely with both attorneys and clients, translating during meetings and consultations, assisting with court appearances, and helping prepare and file motions and applications for green cards and other immigration benefits. Most of my work was ensuring that our clients’ concerns were heard and that they too could understand the process.

This experience transformed my abstract interest in the law into a concrete sense of purpose. I saw relief in clients when I spoke Spanish to them, helped translate to them, and listened intently to their stories for testimonies. I recognized my mother in many of these clients, and I understood that this work was not just a job, it was personal because I could finally give others the feeling of relief and the resources my mother was able to get.

Today, as a law student, I carry these experiences with me into everything I do. My goal is not only to practice law, but to serve as a bridge between the legal system and the Hispanic community. Every day, my mother still tells me “echale ganas”, and I know that I am more than capable of giving this career my 100%. I am still deeply connected to Mexico where my parents come from and carry my background with me every day. Being bilingual, I hope to help individuals and families face a wide range of legal issues. Too often, language and not understanding the legal system prevent Hispanics from seeking help until it is too late. I want to be the person who makes the law feel accessible rather than intimidating.

My background is not just part of my identity; it is my motivation and strength. It reminds me why advocacy and representation matter. In a field that, at times, seems extremely inaccessible for many, I know that my why is important and my work can make a life impact for Hispanics. I am pursuing a legal career not simply to succeed and honor my immigrant parents, but to give back to the community that shaped me and to ensure that people like my mother never have to face the system alone again.

Please upload a copy of your financial award letter labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.FinAwardLtr*

Warning: Trying to access array offset on false in /srv/users/serverpilot/apps/hlsf2023/public/wp-content/plugins/syncs3-gravity-forms/includes/integrations/gravityview/integration.php on line 37

Warning: Trying to access array offset on null in /srv/users/serverpilot/apps/hlsf2023/public/wp-content/plugins/syncs3-gravity-forms/includes/integrations/gravityview/integration.php on line 37
Aranda.Angelica.FinAwardLtr.pdf

Please upload a copy of your resume labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.Resume*

Please upload a copy of your law school transcript labeled as follows: LastName.FirstName.LSTranscript*