Page 43 - FDCC Flyer Spring 2022

FDCC News
pursue this passion for social justice and push for more impactful outcomes.
One life experience that really helped me realize my true passion for law was my asylum application with the USCIS. As a persecuted religious minority (Ahmadiyya) from Pakistan, my first encounter with the American legal system
was before I envisioned law school to be my career aspiration. I filed
all the necessary paperwork, and represented my case by myself in front of the asylum officer for an interview that lasted for almost three hours. The entire process from the application to the interview
left quite an impact on me. While sitting in the waiting rooms of the USCIS offices, I came across dozens of other asylum applicants along with their family members who were often at times accompanied by immigration lawyers.
During such instances, the immigration lawyers looked like messiahs for their clients, who were often seen helping them with understanding the language and organizing their paperwork.
I was lucky to be comfortable enough with the language and the process, and subsequently won my asylum case in under three months but I realized that a lot of other aspiring asylees were not fortunate enough. I later found out that in such instances, an immigration lawyer could play the vital role of helping them escape persecution in their home countries and to start a new life in their country of adoption. Thus, it is with this desire of helping others who might not be as fortunate as I was, that I aspire to follow immigration law and international humanitarian law as a career. I believe that by studying law, I would be able to align my professional and academic goals, where my livelihood would be in accord with my passion of working for social justice and human rights.
In the current admissions cycle, I have been fortunate enough to be admitted in multiple law school programs, but the law school that I am most passionate about is Penn State given its strong repute and a world class Center for Immigrants Rights Clinic. I am lucky to have
been awarded a total of $37,000 per year in scholarship and need based grants, but as a first-generation
law school student and a first- generation immigrant in the United States, funding the remaining tuition remains an uphill challenge. I do not have channels of financial support as other students might have at their disposal, and I do
not have any family support in the country either.
The FDCC Foundations Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship will play an important role in materializing my dream of pursuing immigration law as a career by helping to fund the remaining balance of the tuition. I feel honored and obliged for being a recipient of this award, which will go a long way in helping me on my path towards immigration law.
FDCC Defense Counsel Member Deb Varner is a Member with Varner & Van Volkenburg in Clarksburg, WV. Contact her at: dtvarner@vv-wvlaw.com.
Muhammad Ali Ilahi is the recipient of the 2022 Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship awarded by the FDCC Foundation. He will be attending law school in the Fall. Contact him at: mai55@cornell.edu.
TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER
Register on the FDCC website today for the 2022 FDCC Annual Meeting
www.thefederation.org
July 25-30, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Seattle Washington
See You in Seattle!
www.thefederation.org
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