Incoming and current college students often find themselves faced with several hard-to-answer questions about their identity and place in the world. It’s a particularly remarkable student who can look outside of those questions about themselves and center themselves within an in-need community.
New Frontier Immigration Law continually wants to recognize young people’s efforts to connect with and improve upon those communities.
A dedicated and passionate student at the University of Arizona, Lola is pursuing degrees in Art History and Chemistry. She has a profound interest in art restoration and conservation, driven by a desire to contribute to her community and elevate underrepresented voices in the art world.
Lola, the first in her family to attend and graduate college since her grandparents, has demonstrated not only academic excellence but also a deep commitment to her local community.
As a volunteer at Groundworks Tucson, a nonprofit organization that encourages youth involvement in the arts, she has worked tirelessly to ensure young people in her community have access to safe spaces to explore their creativity.
“This scholarship will be incredibly significant to both me and my family,” said Lola in her acceptance questionnaire. “Both of my parents were unable to fulfill their dreams of higher education, and I will be their first child to graduate with a college degree. These acts of financial kindness ease the stress that comes with tuition and allow me to focus on my learning.”
Lola’s dedication to the arts is equally matched by her love of community. Through her work as a K-8 after-school art teacher and English tutor for middle schoolers, she directly supports local students, helping them excel academically.
Her work at Groundworks Tucson has also allowed her to grow as a volunteer and keyholder, where she manages local concerts and helps build creative spaces such as a community recording studio.
Reflecting on her scholarship application, Lola expressed her commitment to bringing her Mexican and Burmese heritage into her academic and future professional work.
She hopes to work with museums around the world to preserve and highlight the art of indigenous communities, ensuring that their historical art is treated with the respect it deserves.
“Lola’s passion for education, art, and community service embodies the spirit of the ‘How I Make My Community Great’ scholarship,” said Hillary Walsh, owner and founder of New Frontier Immigration Law.
“Her dedication to making a positive impact on the world is truly inspiring, and we are honored to support her on her journey toward achieving her goals.”
After completing her undergraduate degree, Lola plans to pursue a master’s degree in conservation and restoration, with the ultimate goal of working directly with museums to give life to historically significant art pieces.
As she continues her academic journey, Lola remains deeply connected to her local community and is determined to keep giving back through her work.
This year, the firm recognizes scholarship recipient Clayton Rainey of South Texas College of Law for his efforts to transform his personal experience with the law into actionable good works.
Clayton Rainey will receive $2,500 in financial support to complete his law school education.
It’s never easy to go into detail about the trauma that shapes your life. Even so, Rainey’s essay poignantly introduces readers to one of the most pivotal moments of his childhood: the day his mother went to prison. “When the U.S. Secret Service followed us home from Burger King in 2005,” he says, “I knew something was not right.”
Rainey doesn’t dwell on his mother’s story, though. Instead, he focuses on his grandmother and the community that came together to give him a fresh start in life. He speaks of his grandmother’s life thesis: that “service and kindness to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.”
Rainey goes on to discuss how his encounter with the U.S. Secret Service, the criminal justice system, and a caring community shaped his interests as a young person. He spent his high school years volunteering.
He primarily served as a teen attorney in youth court, where he worked with teenagers addressing minor legal infractions. Those efforts bore fruit, eventually winning him the Teen Court Values Award for over 150 hours of service. Moreover, that time in court paved the way for Rainey’s compassionate future.
Rainey completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In addition to his course load, he served as Student Government Downtown Affairs Director for the College of Public Policy. This position saw him continually address the state-side and federal concerns of student-parents.
“My being called upon by these student-parents was the best memory I had while making a difference in the community,” he says. “This initiative was near and dear to my heart because nearly a decade before, my grandma, unable to afford childcare during my winter, spring, and summer break, took me to the law firm where she worked as a paralegal.”
“During this time,” he continues, “I discovered my passion to become an attorney.”
Lil’ Roadrunners Enrichment Program
This isn’t to say that Rainey’s path to community service was easy. He reports that many of his efforts to advocate for student-parent funding went ignored by the University of Texas at San Antonio. However, that rejection led him to partner with a nearby church in an effort to kickstart the Lil’ Roadrunners Enrichment Program.
This program offered educational, health-oriented childcare services to the university’s student-parents. In his time with the program, Rainey saw it serve over 40 children.
Rainey reports taking an exceptional amount of personal inspiration from athlete Simone Biles. He draws on their similarities, including being raised by their grandmothers and battling with ADHD. At the same time, he also claims that he has “a significant amount of catching up to do” if he wants to go toe-to-toe with the world’s greatest gymnast.
It’s clear from his essay, however, that Rainey takes no small amount of personal inspiration from his grandmother. His essay is a testament to her dedication and community service. He continually praises the steps she took to ensure that he had every opportunity to pursue his goals in a safe and healthy environment.
With two inspirations like these, it’s no wonder that Rainey’s had such a notable impact on the young San Antonio legal community.
Rainey’s goals extend far beyond his undergraduate career. After completing his degree, he applied to and was accepted by the South Texas College of Law. His future plans see him specializing in workplace injury, product liability, and wrongful death representation. Upon his graduation, he intends to take – and pass – the Texas bar exam.
Rainey hopes to translate his legal expertise into the passionate representation of Texans in need of civil support.
New Frontier Immigration Law wants today’s generation of college students to think critically about the ways they’ve connected with and influenced in-need communities. Future “How I Make My Community Great” scholarship applicants should specifically compose 500- to 1,000-word essays discussing:
Students must send completed essays, academic transcripts, and proof of admissions or college enrollment to New Frontier Immigration Law to qualify for this scholarship. The firm specifically notes that it accepts scholarship applications from both undocumented and documented students.
New Frontier Immigration Law’s scholarship selection committee will only consider complete applications submitted before the scholarship’s closing date. The firm cannot answer emails, phone calls, or other forms of communication about the scholarship at this time.
Next year’s batch of applicants should keep an eye on New Frontier Immigration Law’s website for deadline and eligibility updates. Students can refer to the scholarship’s terms and conditions page for more information about the firm’s expectations.
New Frontier Immigration Law is committed to serving immigrant communities in Arizona by providing compassionate, client-centered legal representation in both English and Spanish.
Their mission includes removing fear from the immigration process and empowering individuals and families to build their futures in the United States.
The firm’s annual scholarship program is part of its ongoing efforts to support the next generation of leaders who are passionate about creating positive change in their communities.
For more information about the scholarship program or New Frontier Immigration Law’s services, please visit https://usa.newfrontier.us/
