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

Valentin Padilla

Current Mailing Address

501 College Ave
Unit 1
DeKalb, IL 60115
United States
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If mailing address is temporary, expected date when current mailing address is no longer valid

07/01/2026

Permanent Address (only if different from Current Mailing Address)

2615 Chardonnay St.
Laredo, TX 78045
United States
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Phone

(956) 606-8027

Connection to Illinois

Family and residency

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

Chicago, IL

Name of Law School

Northern Illinois University College of Law

Class year

1st year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

08/11/2025

Anticipated Graduation Date

05/20/2028

Current GPA

3.04

Law School Class Rank (if known)

Unknown until end of 1L year

Law School Honors, Awards or Special Recognitions

Deans List

Name of Undergraduate Institution

St.Edwards University

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

Double majored in Psychology and Criminal Justice

Undergraduate Graduation Date

12/10/2021

GPA

3.02

Class Rank (if known)

-3

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

Hispanic Bar Association Award
Residence Assistant Cultural Enrichment Award
Diversity and Inclusion Special Event Coordinator - Best Event of the Year Award

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?

N/A

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

I will most likely be employed for law school internship purposes this summer.

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

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

I am independent from my parents since 2020

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

They still owe money on their home.

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

Through the exchange

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

Total Tuition Cost $

20,000

Books Cost $

1,846

Fees Cost $

8,216

Housing Cost $

10,000

Food Cost $

6,374

Other Costs $ (describe)

Car payments - $340 per month, Insurance $1,378 per semester, loan fees $668, personal travel $2,000

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

~49,800

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

Student Loans $

31,000

Scholarships and Grants $

12,000 (for this year)

Work Study, if any $

N/A

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

2,000

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

5,000

Other Sources $ (describe)

N/A

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

49,800

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)

2025:
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (in Chicago, IL on September 20th): I volunteered as an interpret for the ICIRR citizenship clinic.
- Immigration Services Network of Austin (In Austin TX, from June 2022 - July 2025): I volunteered as a community member to help develop programs and events designed to enhance networking opportunities, provide resources, and foster collaboration among immigrant and allies. I helped analyze community needs and provide recommendations for program development, ensuring alignment with the network's mission and goals of helping immigrants in Austin.
- Citizenship Clinics in San Antonio and Austin, Texas: I attended citizenship clinics that allowed for immigrants to receive legal aid at no cost to start and submit their citizenship paperwork to USCIS by allowing them to meet with attorneys. I mostly helped with interpreting. I did this twice a year from 2022 - 2025.
2023
- Casa Marianella (In Austin, TX): Volunteered giving rides to recently admitted asylum seekers to their medical appointments for about two weeks.
2022
- Jessica Cisneros Texas 28th Congressional Campaign (In Laredo, TX both 2020 and 2022): Helped with voter outreach for Jessica Cisneros campaign race in 2020 and 2022 by distributing flyers, answering questions, and hosted meet and greets for the candidate to meet her constituents.
2021
- SBP (In Puerto Rico): helped rebuild homes in San Juan, Puerto Rico that were affected by the 2017 Hurricane Maria for about 10 days.
2020
- American Gateways (In San Antonio, TX): attended a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) clinic where I helped fill out DACA applications for immigrants who were trying to obtain DACA for the first time as well as renewals.
2019
- Catholic Charities (In Laredo, TX): Helped by interpreting legal conversations between immigration attorneys and recently admitted immigrants from English to Spanish.
- Austin Food Bank (In Austin, TX): Helped store and distribute produce at the Austin Food Bank for two weekends.
2018
- Catholic Charities (In Laredo, TX): helped pass out food and clothes to recently admitted immigrants.
2017
- Catholic Charities (In Laredo, TX): helped pass out food and clothes to recently admitted immigrants.
2016
- Catholic Charities (In Laredo, TX): helped pass out food and clothes to recently admitted immigrants.

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 on the South Texas border, the value of helping immigrants has always been at the core of our community. After several shifts volunteering at the local migrant shelter in Laredo, Texas I distinctly remember seeing a group of 3 attorneys pass me by in the hallway. It was the first time that I had been volunteering while they were there providing free legal aid to migrants. My volunteering shift that typically consisted of passing out clothes and food ended up being consumed by my amusement of these attorneys. I gathered up the courage to approach the attorneys and offer my help with interpreting conversations, as none of them spoke Spanish. For the rest of the summer, I got the opportunity to be of service with the legal department at the migrant shelter.

What first started as volunteering at immigration shelters, turned into 5 years of being an immigration legal caseworker, three of which were at a non-profit organization. Now more than ever, I see the significance of not only having a legal advocate who speaks Spanish–a language that connects to my own background–but also recognizing that migrants come from a wide range of linguistic and cultural communities, each deserving competent and culturally responsive representation. I immigrated from Mexico at the age of eight, and both my personal migrant story and my family’s heritage is something that I carry with me in every step that I take.

Guided by these experiences, I have had the privilege of assisting individuals at various stages of their immigration cases, from providing legal orientations to recently admitted immigrants at detention centers to attending oath ceremonies for clients who are certifying their citizenship status. I take pride in not only providing assistance but in educating the immigrant community as education is the pillar for a stronger community. I aim to make the greatest impact on my community, and a legal education will equip me to further continue advocating for the most vulnerable. This scholarship would ensure that I am able to afford the cost that comes with acquiring a legal education.

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

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Padilla.Valentin.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*