Scholar Entries - Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois

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

Yes

Name

Serenity Torres

Current Mailing Address

400 N LaSalle Dr
Apt 4108
Chicago, Illinois 60654
United States
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Permanent Address (only if different from Current Mailing Address)

United States
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Phone

(773) 706-6543

Connection to Illinois

I was born and raised in Illinois, specifically the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago.

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

Chicago

Name of Law School

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Class year

2nd year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

08/27/2024

Anticipated Graduation Date

05/14/2027

Current GPA

3.259

Law School Honors, Awards or Special Recognitions

Dean's List Fall 2025

Name of Undergraduate Institution

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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

B.A., English

Undergraduate Graduation Date

01/15/2022

GPA

3.98

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

magna cum laude

Were you employed in 2025?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

Sherwood Law Group

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?

8,000

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

Littler Mendelson, P.C.

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

33,000

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

My mother and stepfather live in a home owned by my stepfather's mother as they care for her after a dementia diagnosis. My father lives in a rented apartment.

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

My mother is on my stepfather's employer-sponsored health insurance. My father is self-employed and has insurance through the marketplace.

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

Total Tuition Cost $

79,722

Books Cost $

200

Fees Cost $

681

Housing Cost $

13,000

Food Cost $

5,000

Other Costs $ (describe)

6,550 (I pay for a car note and an undergraduate parent plus loan).

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

105,153

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

Student Loans $

59,722

Scholarships and Grants $

10,000

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

10,000

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

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

79,722

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

65,500.87 (1L year only)

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)

University Place Christian Church - Urbana, IL- 2018-2022: Helping cook meals every Wednesday to supply free dinner at the church for anyone who was in need. This served the diverse Champaign-Urbana community while I attended the university.

Street Law, Inc., - Chicago, IL - August 2024 – Present: This organization pairs current law students with Chicago high school classrooms to teach them about their legal rights and act as a resource. In this organization, I provided tailored legal lessons to Chicago high school students in majority Hispanic neighborhoods on topics like housing rights, ICE raids, and Miranda rights.

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)

On a classically hot and way too humid August day in Chicago, a new chapter of my life began with an age-old question: “Where are you from?” Since it was asked by my first friend in law school, I eagerly responded in hopes of building rapport. “Right here!”, I said. To my delight, she was from right here too. Ah, a connection! But, then as soon as it came, it was snatched away as she asked: “What high school did you go to?” Unfortunately, I did not go to high school right here. At fourteen, my family moved to the suburbs. But I spent my youth in the city—my formative years. It’s where I’m from certainly, but I became an adult on quiet suburban streets. Can I claim either?
Questions like this remind me of less innocent inquiries: “What are you?” An inquiry often hurled by middle schoolers flabbergasted that my features did not fit within binary racial categories. I did not fit into any rigid group and I still do not. I am from both the city and the suburbs; I am Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Black, and I embrace all my vibrant cultures equally. After that August day, I was a working-class person that somehow made it to law school. I have always lived in multiple worlds at once, peeking into each one; and gaining experiences and insights into their perspectives. As a young person, this felt like a chore and I longed to feel completely at home in one world. Now, I realize this fractured existence is a gift. In every space I enter, whether professional or academic, I bring all my diverse identities with me to the table. They allow me to create truly innovative solutions that consider the perspective of multiple racial, socioeconomic, gender, and geographic groups at once.
As I settled into my first year at Northwestern, I continued to embrace living within multiple worlds and sought to expand them. I was determined to never force myself into the mold of one specific law student type, instead, I made the conscious effort to learn everything I could about this profession and the many forms lawyers take. I attended every informational panel and lunch event I could (and not just for the free food!) to soak up the boundless knowledge from practicing attorneys in every field. Even organizations I did not feel connected to or did not agree with politically, I felt compelled to attend their events to learn the reasonings behind their beliefs. Through these experiences, I felt closer to achieving my purpose in attending law school: advocating for the individual and helping them navigate the very legal systems originally created to oppress them. Every individual comes from a unique background, with a variety of worldviews that shape their wants and needs. As someone that comes from different, and often opposing cultures, I’ve learned that taking the time to listen, understand, and respect others’ perspectives provides the tools to become a zealous advocate for one’s client.
Within my law school and professional career, I plan to continue to learn from the multiple words I find myself in. As an academic, I now sit on the Northwestern University Law Review senior board as the Senior Equity & Inclusion Editor. This position was close to removal last year, but I hope to restore its power by ensuring diverse topics and voices are heard in legal scholarship, as well as by encouraging all students that they have a place in these rooms. As a professional, I look forward to a summer as a litigation associate, learning from the best in this profession to become a stronger advocate.

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

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Torres.Serenity.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*