Scholarship Support Allows Passion to Flourish: Camila Pacheco-Forés

Current 3L student Camila Pacheco-Forés came to Minnesota Law with an impressive resume including hands-on experience in migrant rights, immigration, and family law. She has completed a Fulbright fellowship in Mexico City and worked as a paralegal for a legal aid organization in Los Angeles. Her time at Minnesota Law has strengthened her desire to use her education to make a difference for underserved communities after graduation. Pacheco-Forés cites the scholarships she received as instrumental to pursuing a career based on passion instead of paycheck.

“Scholarship support has been huge for me,” says Pacheco-Forés. “I would not have gone to law school without the financial aid I received. It provides the freedom to choose a career that wouldn’t have been possible with a mountain of student loans. I can think and dream bigger for my career, which is really exciting.”

Fighting for Equity in Immigration Law

“Volunteering with my parents as an interpreter at an asylum clinic sparked my interest in a career in immigration law. As I’ve studied and learned more, I realized that it’s the combination of person-to-person relationships, paired with tackling interesting legal puzzles and finding how your client’s situation fits with the law that I really enjoy” explains Pacheco-Forés. Through experiences and mentorships with attorneys who work in the field, she truly got excited about becoming a lawyer that is compassionate and client-focused.

Pacheco-Forés’ passion for immigration law also stems from her family heritage. Her father is a Venezuelan immigrant and her mother’s family fled as refugees from Cuba. “My grandfather was a lawyer in Cuba for a short time before my family fled to the United States. He never got to be a lawyer here in the U.S., but now I can carry on his legacy,” says Pacheco-Forés. While her family faced some challenges as immigrants, she feels that her family truly benefited from U.S. immigration laws. But Pacheco-Forés shares that not everyone who is seeking a better life through immigration is so lucky. Out of gratitude, Pacheco-Forés feels called to work in public interest immigration law, advocating to make the immigration system more fair and equitable.

The Power of Scholarship Support

Pacheco-Forés explains, “Being a queer woman of color, I know that I'm not well-represented in the legal profession. Having a scholarship not only helps me financially to have some footing when I graduate, but it also helps me feel like I really belong here and that people want me here. Providing scholarships for people who have been underrepresented is not only practically important, but it's also symbolically important. It shows people that they are valued and they have something to bring to this profession.”

You can support students like Benjamin, Erin, and Camila by making a gift to Law School scholarships.