First-Year Vitale Inspired By Alumni, Desire for Social Justice
JD Evening student Theresa Vitale's journey to Loyola Law School, Los Angeles is a perfect example of the difference the engaged Loyola alumni network can make on a personal level.
Larry Kent '86 mentored Vitale when she worked for his private construction defect practice. As her responsibilities grew from file clerk, to bookkeeper to paralegal she met others who taught and encouraged her. Eventually, she landed her current position at Girardi | Keese, working alongside a number of Loyola alumni and current students.
"I wasn't aware at the time, but my path for the next five years was settled when I took my current position at Girardi," says Vitale.
That path for Vitale '20, now in her second semester at Loyola Law, includes an internship at the International Human Rights Clinic, where she has drafted a book proposal for the future publication of the clinic's Study on the Detention and Deportation Policies and Practices related to Irregular Migration in the Caribbean.
"I have always cared deeply about social injustice, and I am driven by a desire to enhance the greater good of society," she says. "My most pressing concern is to use what I am learning at Loyola to participate in legal and social progress."
Vitale also has had an opportunity to attend class and review correspondence directed to the clinic from human rights bodies, to provide feedback and edits for current papers and, most recently, to produce preliminary research for upcoming student projects.
"It is a wonderful feeling to share both personal and school pride with my colleagues and superiors on a daily basis. Loyola’s alumni network has really made a difference for me on every level.”
Are you ready to make a difference? Find out more about our JD Evening program.