As an undergraduate, Christina was interested in working in the legal profession. After completing her undergraduate work, Lin worked in the fashion and cosmetic industry. During this time, she began to witness a disconnect between management, who make all the decisions, and people like her fellow technicians, whose lives were being most negatively affected. This disconnect turned into the push she needed to apply to law school.
Lin started seeking ways to serve her community during the late fall of her first semester. She volunteered as an intake volunteer at JDC’s Legal Advice and Referral Clinic on campus and decided to become a Student Coordinator for the clinic. As a Student Coordinator, Christina works with other students to coordinate intake volunteers and facilitate client placements with attorneys.
After the Lunar New Year shooting in Monterey Park and the shooting in Atlanta last year, Christina began to look for opportunities connected to the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community. She now serves as the first Co-Director of Public Interest for the National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (NAPALSA). As co-chair, she aims to create a database of in-person and remote national legal clinics that cater to AAPI communities. Through this database, Christina hopes to connect multilingual law students to pro bono opportunities and aims to increase access to interpretation services, providing a crucial service to the community that has been lacking.
When she is not engaging with the community, in classes, or at her fellowship, you can expect to find Christina practicing and teaching others how to paint their nails with Japanese and Korean gel techniques. She also enjoys K-pop.
When it came time to find a summer internship, Christina’s dedication to communities in the Bay Area and public interest led her to the AT&T Fellowship. She will be working with a variety of different pro bono projects, such as the Tenant Advocacy Project and the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. Christina’s start date is June 5th and she will work on a part-time basis for 8 to 10 weeks, both remotely and in the office.
JDC has collaborated with AT&T legal services to offer law students like Christina a unique fellowship experience. The Fellowship creates opportunities for law students who would otherwise not be able to take internships and encourages law students to seek jobs in the public interest by providing an opportunity to do substantive work, acquire new skills, and gain experience and insight.