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

Kaitlyn DeSouza

Current Mailing Address

5454 S South Dr
Apt 325
Chicago, IL 60615
United States
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If mailing address is temporary, expected date when current mailing address is no longer valid

06/01/2026

Permanent Address (only if different from Current Mailing Address)

4319 Esquire Circle
Naperville, IL 60564
United States
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Phone

(630) 853-5399

Connection to Illinois

I have grown up in Illinois since I was 3 years old, my family lives here, and I go to school here.

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

Chicago

Name of Law School

The University of Chicago

Class year

1st year law student

Full Time or Part Time Student?

Full Time

Date you began attending THIS law school

09/29/2025

Anticipated Graduation Date

06/01/2028

Current GPA

N/A

Name of Undergraduate Institution

Boston University

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

BA in Economics and BA in International Relations (Concentration in Latin America)

Undergraduate Graduation Date

05/01/2023

GPA

3.92

Undergraduate Honors, Awards, or Special Recognitions

Magna Cum Laude, Presidential Scholar, Dean's List

Were you employed in 2025?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

KPMG (Chicago): November 2024 - September 2025

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?

51,000

Do you expect to be employed in 2026?

yes

If yes, please identify your employer(s).

I plan to work a summer job in public interest (unsure which employer) and receive a $6,000 stipend from University of Chicago.

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

350,000

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

They own their home - they are currently paying a mortgage.

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

They have 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 $

83,316

Books Cost $

2,000

Fees Cost $

4,374

Housing Cost $

15,000

Food Cost $

6,000

Other Costs $ (describe)

10,000 (transportation (car/gas/bus), monthly student loan payments, personal expenses)

Total Expenses $ (add above entries)

121,190

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

Student Loans $

105,324

Scholarships and Grants $

15,000

Work Study, if any $

Personal Contribution (Savings/Employment) $

866

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

Other Sources $ (describe)

Total Funding $ (add above entries)

121,190

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)

International Refugee Assistance Program (Chicago, IL; September 2025 - Present): this organization (which I volunteer with through University of Chicago) works to mobilize resources to provide direct client services and advocate for refugees and displaced persons. Last quarter, I became a 1L representative for the organization and participated in casework. I conducted remote Know Your Rights presentations for individuals from various Latin American countries who are seeking entry into the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico border. I presented information about current policies and options for entry to the U.S. to a shelter in Mexico.

Centro de Ayuda Cristiana (Buenos Aires, Argentina; July 2024 - August 2024): this is a nonprofit religious organization based in Buenos Aires. I volunteered full time, going to a low-income neighborhood of Buenos Aires to work with, teach, and give food to children and assisting in cleaning. maintaining, and setting up in the center.

Project Citizenship (Boston, MA; February 2021 - May 2023): this is a nonprofit organization that provides free, high-quality legal services to immigrants in Massachusetts and New England and aims to help immigrants obtain citizenship. I worked one-on-one with applicants to help them complete Form N-400 naturalization forms and translated for Spanish-speaking immigrants. Eventually, I became an Application Assistance Captain, in which I answered questions from volunteers and applicants, managed the flow and rotation of the clinic, and provided volunteers with any additional materials needed.

Strong Women, Strong Girls (Boston, MA; Fall 2020 - Spring 2023): this is a nonprofit organization that aims to empower elementary school aged girls to imagine a broader future and help them develop skills for lifelong success through a curriculum grounded on female role models. I went to an elementary school in a Boston neighborhood that was mostly Hispanic and mentored 3rd grade girls, teaching them about role models, connecting with them, and encouraging them to believe in themselves and pursue their goals. This was particularly meaningful to me because unlike other mentors, I was able to speak with the girls in Spanish and better relate to and listen to them due to our shared background. I eventually became a site leader for the school, managing the mentoring team, leading meetings, and facilitating communication with community partners.

Calvary Church and New City Church (Naperville, IL; June 2019 - Present): I volunteered with Calvary Church and now New City Church (when I go back to Naperville) in childcare. In this role, I take care of children aged 2-5, teaching them lessons, playing with them, and responding to any emergencies. I translate for the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking kids when there are teachers who only speak English and help them feel comfortable and a sense of belonging.

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)

The sound of clapping and music filled the air as I listened to everyone around me singing coritos. My grandparents ran a small Hispanic church in Queens, where most people were immigrants, many of them undocumented. Singing these short Spanish hymns together was a declaration of joy and determination despite the constant struggles they, including my family, faced, and a celebration of the community found at the church. It was a way to connect to their culture despite being far from home and a place to not feel so lost in this country. With what little money they had, my grandparents donated food and mattresses to church members, doing what they could to help. As I grew older, I better understood the struggles they faced, such as the limitations of not having documents or citizenship and being evicted due to increasing rents. With this understanding, I began to think of how much more their lives could change if someone could help them with these legal and immigration issues as well.
During college, I began volunteering at Project Citizenship, a nonprofit that provides free legal assistance to immigrants applying for citizenship. I helped applicants complete the N-400 form and translated it for Spanish-speakers. I met all kinds of people, from recent graduates staying in the US to people who didn’t speak English at all, like José. A Nicaraguan immigrant, José reminded me in many ways of my grandpa; he was older, had worked in construction, and was warm and kind. He seemed very hard-working but was struggling with applying for citizenship, especially given the language barrier. In fact, when I first spoke to him, he was relieved to hear Spanish and immediately felt more comfortable. We went through his form, him explaining his situation and me translating not only words but also context. As I listened to his story, I thought of my grandpa and imagined him in this situation, trying to provide for his family and navigate the system in a different country, but with no one to help him.
At the end of the session, José thanked me and said he was so grateful and that I had helped him so much. After he said “Dios te bendiga,” he said something that took me by surprise; he told me I was a good person with a good heart. I thought about that conversation for days afterward, because before this, I had just thought of myself as one of many volunteers, and I hadn’t realized that a small thing to me could potentially make such a difference in someone’s life. What José said made me realize that access to legal resources can transform lives. Just as my grandpa found in his church how he was able to effect change in others’ lives, I discovered an avenue through which I could achieve my goal of serving my community.
My experience at Project Citizenship served as an impetus for my studies and future internships. I learned that my personal connections to immigration were more than that; I truly cared about these issues and the struggle of immigrants, and that became my motivation to pursue a career in law. I decided to concentrate in Latin America within international relations, and classes that I’ve taken exploring relations between the US and Latin America have given me a deeper, historical understanding of migration within the Americas and context for the treatment of immigrants in the US. The next summer, I interned at the Public Defender’s Office where I expected a feel-good experience in which I felt like I was helping people like at Project Citizenship, but I learned with my first task this job would be different.
I was in shock. After I was assigned to research precedent for a case, my supervisor provided me with a video for context. I watched as police pulled over a car for rolling a stop sign and told the driver to exit the car. When he asked for the reason, the officer pulled him out and forced him to the ground. I wondered how a minor error escalated so quickly, and my supervisor told me the officer saw the driver, who was Black, ran his license plate, and when it came up as an ex-convict, followed him until he made a mistake. I had heard of such incidents, but had never seen it personally. I saw how easily those from marginalized communities, such as ex-prisoners, can be taken advantage of. Like the driver, my family were in this position as immigrants, and reflecting on this motivated me to do my best for this case. As I researched precedent and reexamined the video, I realized how important knowledge of the law is, and I wanted that knowledge to equip myself to protect people who are at a disadvantage in this country.
As a child, I watched my grandparents use their skill sets and resources to support and encourage their community. Just as they used the church and their assets to help and empower other immigrants, I want to use my background and experiences to connect with people and thus better understand and serve them. A legal education would help enable me to accomplish these goals and advocate for people like my family and the clients at Project Citizenship. With my degree and through my career, I hope to help immigrants feel safe and cared for, just as I did as a kid singing coritos at that church.

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

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DeSouza.Kaitlyn.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*