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"We can change this world if we put our minds and effort to it!"
~ Imahni, 2020 Program Graduate
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“We can change this world if we put our minds and effort to it!” This was the inspiring message from one of the 24 newest graduates of the Summer Legal Fellowship Program in our ceremony last Friday night. Thank you to all who joined us to launch another group of diverse and talented future leaders!
We were honored to hear from California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as our keynote speaker, who told the students:
“I’m pleased to congratulate you, this time, but I suspect, over the course of many years, I will be saying congratulations to each of you a whole lot of times! You've demonstrated that you’re the kind of person that we want to see not just in college, but in a hospital, taking care of patients… in a courtroom, protecting people’s rights… in the White House, maybe as the next President of United States… or in a classroom, being a great teacher. Get ready! The sky’s the limit for you.”
Students also shared reflections on their experiences in the program:
“This program has not only shown me that I can fix injustices from within through law, but that I can also harness these skills to make a change in my world.”
“Fellow students, you guys have made others know that the best is yet to come for the future of this nation. These people have only virtually gotten to meet you, and yet they know that their future is in good hands. Let us not think of this as some large responsibility that we must hold up on our shoulders, but yet an honor to know that we can change this world when we put our minds and effort to it!”
“Everything that I have learned and experienced in this program I’ve been able to apply to my life and improve as a person. Thank you… for this amazing opportunity, thank you for pushing me to speak and get out of my comfort zone. Thanks to everyone who supported and helped me along the way.”
“We talked about parts of history such as the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle against racial discrimination that don’t often get talked about. I appreciate how we connected the history to how it is relevant today.”
“This program has been extremely helpful in getting me closer to my goals. I will be applying to college next year…. I hope that everyone here goes on to pursue their goals and I wish you the best of luck. I know all of you are capable of accomplishing anything!”
Thank you to all in the CYDL community who made this summer’s program a success in the midst of challenging times. This includes our generous donors, professionals who opened their virtual doors to host our students as interns, program volunteers and mentors, and families of our students. Our own alumni were critical as well: two alumni served as instructors, and others contributed as speakers and behind the scenes.
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Thank you for enabling us to nurture a new generation of diverse leaders and build a more inclusive and equitable community!
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Center for Youth Development through Law
Operated in cooperation with UC Berkeley School of Law
Board of Directors
Anitha Anne, Attorney, Goodwin Procter
Creighton Davis, Attorney, Baker McKenzie LLP
Allyson Deraps, Associate Counsel, Burning Man Project
Hon. Danielle Douglas, Judge, Contra Costa County Superior Court
Natalie Friedman, Artist
Hon. Joni Hiramoto, Judge, Contra Costa County Superior Court
Su-Jin Lee, Vice President and General Counsel, PopSugar, Inc.
Christina Pehl, Educator
James G. Roberts, Attorney
Ariana Shaffer, Attorney, Cooley LLP
Ben Therriault, Police Detective, City of Richmond
Michael Wilson, Assistant Public Defender, Alameda County
Leadership Council
Brian Barsky
Ray Cardozo
Stanley Friedman
Ben Hamburg
Hon. Brenda Harbin-Forte
Hon. Barbara Lee
Melissa Nelken
Reginald Oh
Dorian Peters, CYDL Program Alumnus
Miriam Rokeach
Winslow O. Small
Thank you to Hao Zhang, Program Alum, for pro bono work on our newsletters!
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