PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — At age 24, Jenise Rivera is already breaking barriers and bridging gaps.
Rivera, who identifies as Puerto Rican, is the first in her family to graduate from college. In May, she’ll also be the first to graduate from law school.
"As a Latinx woman in the law now, there’s a very small percentage of us, still. I think the legal profession still has a long way to go for diversity," Rivera said.
Latinx people make up less than 2% of lawyers in the U.S, according to the Hispanic National Bar Association.
Growing up in Camden, New Jersey, Rivera says, she didn’t see her community represented in the law. That made it difficult to imagine a legal profession as a viable goal when she was younger. She did, however, observe how her community was disproportionately affected by the law.
"People would be sitting out on their steps, hanging out, and police would question. If a kid was a little far from their home, police would ask questions," she said. "I’ve lived in a primarily minority area. I went to school in a primarily minority area. So this was a huge issue that was happening."
She says she also watched her mother struggle, helping family members through the legal immigration process.
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Now, Rivera says she is carrying that torch, in honor of her mother’s service and compassion, byt providing legal help to others.
"I knew that I needed this to be a part of my work," Rivera said.
As a social justice scholar at Rutgers University she’s found herself tying together law and advocacy. She and her colleagues do a lot of pro bono work.
"Advocacy for others. That’s always been my mantram" she said. "I have the tools to explain the legal system to others whose lives are affected by it. I am able to be the advocate needed when the justice system is disproportionately affecting minorities or when someone needs a hand understanding legal principles."
She’s making her mother Denise proud, while actualizing a dream for herself and her community.
"It’s everything that she stands for: service and helping our community. That’s always what she did in every way she could. She’s super proud. My whole family is proud," Rivera said.
Rivera hopes to inspire change, as well as more diverse representation in the law, through her own journey.
"Too many times, my community is affected by the justice system and there is no one who understands where they are coming from, no one who explains things, or even speaks their language. That needs to change," says Rivera.
"It doesn’t stop with me. For those who look up to me, I would say: You’re next. You’re going to be in my shoes soon. We’re going to need you to fight too."
After Rivera graduates from Rutgers Law School in May, she will continue contributing to the community she grew up in through a judicial clerkship in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division, in Camden.