Scholar Entries - Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois

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

Name

Veronica Godina

Current Mailing Address

3125 W 39th PL
Chicago, IL 60632
United States
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Phone

(773) 818-3885

Connection to Illinois

Born and live in Illinois

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

Chicago

Name of Law School

Northwestern Law

Class year

1st year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

08/26/2025

Anticipated Graduation Date

05/12/2028

Current GPA

3.025

Name of Undergraduate Institution

Brown University

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

BA in Latin American & Caribbean Studies and Migration Studies

Undergraduate Graduation Date

05/25/2025

GPA

3.95

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

Honors

Were you employed in 2025?

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

N/A

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?

$80,000

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

N/A

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

$80,000

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

$80,000

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

They own their home and currently owe about $100,000.

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

My father has employer-sponsored health insurance and my mother has no health insurance.

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

Total Tuition Cost $

$79,772

Books Cost $

$1776

Fees Cost $

$2,404

Housing Cost $

Food Cost $

$2,836

Other Costs $ (describe)

$7,056(Health insurance and health service fees), $1,548 (Transportation cost)

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

$95,392

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

Student Loans $

$41,008

Scholarships and Grants $

$50,000

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

$4,384

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

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

$95,392

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

N/A

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)

Rhode Island for Community and Justice, Providence, RI, February 2022 – May 2025 | I researched restorative justice approaches to youth truancy, with a focus on community-based alternatives to court involvement. I also analyzed barriers faced by multilingual and immigrant families—particularly Spanish-speaking households—in accessing the legal system, and developed policy recommendations to improve language access, translation services, and equitable representation.

Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, Providence, RI, March 2023 – May 2025 | I advised state officials on juvenile justice policy proposals aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in detention and expanding diversion programs for system-involved youth. I also conducted research and presented recommendations on community-based alternatives to incarceration, including culturally responsive mental health interventions for youth of color.

Children’s Rights, New York City, NY, May 2024 – August 2024 | I conducted legal and legislative research supporting federal litigation and advocacy efforts on behalf of foster, migrant, and disabled youth. I also drafted memoranda, compiled media and legislative reports, and assisted attorneys in preparing advocacy materials for systemic reform campaigns impacting vulnerable youth populations.

St. Pius Church Food Pantry, Chicago, IL, Winter 2023-Winter 2024 | I assisted with food distribution for low-income families in a predominantly Hispanic community, supporting access to essential resources for immigrant and working-class households.

Kiddy Kare Preschool and Kindergarten, Chicago, IL, April 2016 – April 2019 | I supported Head Start students in a primarily Mexican neighborhood by providing one-on-one assistance in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. I helped young children develop foundational English language skills to support classroom learning and early academic confidence.

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)

Dreams, ambition, and relentless work ethic filled the overcrowded homes of my neighborhood in Brighton Park, Chicago. Fathers worked from sunrise to sunset to put food on the table, and mothers held families together with care and love. Despite having little, we were happy. That sense of security shattered quietly and all at once. At recess, whispers spread about sudden disappearances. First, a father. Then, a mother. I watched the worry deepen in the adults around me, especially my parents. Eventually, it reached my own family; my uncle disappeared. As a child, I did not yet understand immigration law or enforcement policy. But I understood fear. I lay awake at night making plans to protect my family from a threat I could not name. I only knew that most parents in my neighborhood, including mine, were undocumented.

As I grew older, fear gave way to understanding. I watched the news and heard politicians describe families like mine as criminals. Those words hurt, but they also awakened something in me: a resolve to fight for dignity, fairness, and belonging for immigrant families. My ancestry became the foundation of my purpose. That purpose crystallized in college. I interned at the same immigration law firm handling my father’s case. His application, submitted in 1997, was finally being reviewed—twenty-five years later. At the firm, I worked alongside attorneys representing asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, and unaccompanied children. I conducted legal research. I sat with families as they relived trauma, and witnessed both the devastation of denied claims and the joy of reunification. Each day, I showed up hoping for news about my father.

Then one afternoon, a lawyer approached my desk and said, “Your dad got his green card.” In that moment, decades of anxiety dissolved. I had the privilege of calling my father to tell him that the fear that had shaped our lives was finally over. That relief clarified my future. I knew I wanted to be the person who delivers that call, who restores stability and dignity to families who have waited far too long to feel safe. This experience confirmed that the law is the most powerful tool I have to create lasting change. It also showed me the importance of representation. My father’s attorney, a successful Mexican-American woman, became a living example of what was possible. Seeing someone who shared my background fight for my family’s future made me believe I belonged in the legal profession and that my lived experience is a strength.

My commitment to justice is also shaped by growing up in a neighborhood marked by systemic neglect. My middle school sat across the street from a juvenile intervention facility. I watched peers who needed support and resources instead become entangled in systems that offered punishment rather than possibility. Overcrowded classrooms and limited opportunities reinforced a painful truth: invisibility has consequences. These experiences drive my dedication to advocacy, especially for youth and communities of color who are too often overlooked.

My path toward visibility continued when I earned a scholarship to attend a private high school. In a space that did not reflect my background, I felt isolated and unseen. At first, I tried to blend in, but I soon realized that shrinking myself would not challenge exclusion; it would reinforce it. I chose instead to be unapologetically present. In college, that commitment took an unexpected form: wearing pink every day. Pink, frequently dismissed as unserious, mirrors how minorities are often underestimated. As a queer Latina woman, I have felt the weight of those assumptions. Pink became my declaration that intelligence is not defined by conformity. It symbolizes pride, visibility, and resistance.

Beyond symbolism, my dedication to service is grounded in action. Through my work with Rhode Island for Community and Justice, I researched restorative justice alternatives for youth, analyzed barriers multilingual families face in accessing the legal system, and developed policy recommendations to improve language access and equity. On the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, I advised state officials on reducing racial disparities in detention and expanding diversion programs.

These experiences have shaped who I am today and who I hope to become: a legal advocate who brings compassion and cultural competency to her work, ensuring people are protected and truly seen by the law. I draw my strength from my family’s story, my community’s perseverance, and the belief that justice must be accessible to those most affected by its absence. I am ready to carry these values and my pink wardrobe forward into law school, the legal profession, and a lifetime of service.

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

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Godina.Veronica.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*