Sarah Anand, 2L
In high school and college, Sarah Anand participated in an anti-genocide coalition that taught students about genocide in Darfur. While studying and working on human rights issues, Sarah learned that simply donating money or food might help ameliorate immediate hunger or pain, but doesn’t solve the greater problem.
“I firmly believe that the law’s ability to empower individuals provides an important and lasting impact: autonomy,” she said.
“Victims of human rights violations deserve to have a voice, one leading to an opportunity to live life for whatever purpose they may choose.”
“These people should not have to be resigned to their fate, and the law can be an intervening force to break down the status quo,” Sarah said.
Sarah also helped start a microfinance club – a type of lending strategy typically used for individuals in poverty – in college. She knew that harsh working conditions in some multinational corporations within developing countries often turn into human rights violations. “Microfinance is a conduit to a safe and sustainable livelihood,” she said.
While interning for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Sarah researched human rights issues for constituent letters about foreign policy legislation. She also attended legislative meetings and hearings about human rights targeted legislation. She came away from her experience in Washington D.C. inspired by the idea that the U.S. government could assist people who cannot turn to their own government for help.
Sarah entered law school at USC with a commitment to use her legal knowledge to help individuals who are not in a position to help themselves. During her first year, Sarah worked with the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) to obtain Special Immigrant Visas for an Iraqi family who suffered severe human rights abuses. This summer she worked as a law clerk for Public Counsel in its Homelessness Prevention Project unit, assisting with high impact litigation and advocating for the homeless. Sarah’s passion for social justice will continue to inform her work with the International Human Rights Clinic this year as she looks forward to bringing light to the stories of the clients and organizations served by the clinic.
Jillian Chou, 2L
After working as a volunteer at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Jillian Chou was determined to go to law school to learn more about human rights law. She spent months assisting victims of torture who were seeking political asylum in the United States. She read many client accounts describing what they had been through in order to get to the United States, and assisted her colleagues in determining which cases could be filed under the UN definition of torture. She was fascinated by the work and the profound impact the foundation had on its clients.
As an undergraduate, Jillian planned USC’s first alternative summer break to Africa to work with a nonprofit that runs after-school arts programs to educate and empower youth in Kampala, Uganda. While abroad, Jillian met children who had been the victims of some of the gravest human rights atrocities.
“Jillian planned USC’s first alternative summer break to Africa to work with a nonprofit that runs after-school arts programs to educate and empower youth in Kampala, Uganda. While abroad, Jillian met children who had been the victims of some of the gravest human rights atrocities.”
“Despite all the hardship they faced, their resiliency left a profound impact on me and inspired me to apply for Teach for America after I graduated,” Jillian said.
During her two years teaching in Baltimore, Jillian witnessed deep flaws in the country’s education system. “My experience with Teach for America changed the way I view our society, our education system, and even our criminal justice system,” she said. “After law school, I hope to stay connected with education issues so that students like my students in Baltimore can have the opportunity to receive an excellent education.”
She hopes her participation in the International Human Rights Clinic will help her gain perspective on law and policy, and how to use international law as a tool for social justice. “I also hope to learn vital lawyering and advocacy skills that I can carry over into my practice as an attorney,” she said.
Siobhan Coley-Amin, 2L
During her senior year at UCLA, Siobhan Coley-Amin decided to use her foreign language skills to volunteer as an interpreter for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. In her first case, she was asked to translate French for a victim who shared her story with an attorney.
Siobhan was particularly affected by her work as an ambassador for the National Iranian-American Council, a nonprofit civic action organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community.
“While interpreting, I was perplexed by the attorney’s direct and emotionally distant approach to the victim’s difficult narrative,” Siobhan said. “As I watched the narrative progress however, I saw something different in her attitude. What I had initially assumed to be a lack of sympathy was in fact the attorney’s intellectual process: her attention to detail and analysis of every fact’s relevance. This process was part of her analysis of the potential for a legal cause of action, and a gateway to something that would protect and defend the victim. With this small epiphany,
“I began to appreciate the multi-faceted role of the attorney as mediator and guide for justice.”
Siobhan’s Global Studies minor allowed her to focus on different aspects of present-day globalization and its history, including the development of modern international human rights law in the aftermath of World War II.
After graduation, Siobhan gained advocacy experience while working as a legal assistant at a boutique immigration firm. Siobhan was particularly affected by her work as an ambassador for the National Iranian-American Council, a nonprofit civic action organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community. As an ambassador, Siobhan hosted educational events, public service days, and met with members of Congress and other political leaders.
Siobhan continued her advocacy work as a first-year law student at USC by volunteering with the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, which allowed her to assist Iraqi clients with the refugee application process.
Amani Floyd, 3L
Amani Floyd’s interest in international human rights law was piqued during her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University, where she majored in Religious Studies and minored in Islamic Studies and World Politics. During a study abroad program in Morocco, Amani began to understand and respect diverse worldviews and cultural norms. Today, she hopes to use her legal skills to provide a voice to marginalized people.
“My work with the IHRC provides the foundation upon which I hope to help people and to begin a legal career that includes service to those who are in the most need of my skills as a lawyer.”
“I don’t want to be a stereotypical lawyer–one that makes a lot of money and does not really give back. While I will be starting my legal career in Big Law, I still plan on doing meaningful work through pro bono projects,” she said.
As a student, Amani is interested in the intersection between international and domestic law. She has studied the Alien Tort Statute and how the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Act of State Doctrine, or international customary norms such as functional immunity or status-based immunity could potentially block a domestic human rights claim. Amani also enjoyed class discussions on the role of international law, the post-WWII emergence of human rights in the international sphere, and how they blend together in U.S. domestic courts.
Prior to attending law school, Amani earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and participated in a two-year alternative teaching program that places recent college graduates in “critical-needs” schools in Mississippi. More recently, Amani has enjoyed working as a research assistant for USC Gould Professor Edwin Smith, assisting him on his “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) project. Amani has focused on the legality of R2P under international law, the reformation of the state sovereignty concept to encompass a state responsibility to protect the human rights of its own citizens, and whether or not R2P has reached the level of customary international law.
Charles Hyun, 2L
As the son of a Korean immigrant who fled North Korea during the war, human rights issues hit close to home for Charles Hyun. Although his family escaped to safety in South Korea, countless others were not as fortunate. Reflecting on this disparity, Charles was inspired to champion social justice as a member of the International Human Rights Clinic.
As the son of a Korean immigrant who fled North Korea during the war, human rights issues hit close to home for Charles Hyun. Although his family escaped to safety in South Korea, countless others were not as fortunate.
“As a U.S. citizen, it is easy to forget that while human rights violations certainly occur at home, the need for social justice is much greater abroad… I believe that lawyers educated in the U.S. lend an important perspective to international social justice advocacy, and programs like the IHRC can make a huge difference in the world.”
During his first year of law school, Charles was involved in USC’s Public Interest Law Foundation and volunteered dozens of hours with Christian Legal Aid of Los Angeles.
Before he entered law school, Charles’ global perspective spanned from South Korea to South Africa. While traveling in South Africa, Charles learned about the history of the nation and was reminded that apartheid ended only 20 years ago. This experience led him to explore working with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) as a member of the clinic this year. Charles looks forward to representing survivors of trafficking and believes it will be “one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
John Korevec, 2L
As an undergraduate, John Korevec was deeply affected by his work with the International Save the Children’s Alliance UN Advocacy Office in New York. Inspired to seek additional opportunities to learn about international human rights, John enrolled in several relevant courses while studying for his master’s degree in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
John has written on the conflict between the concerns of international tribunals maintaining due process for the criminally accused, while also providing an effective institutional forum that prosecutes and codifies international understandings of human rights abuses.
John has written on the conflict between the concerns of international tribunals maintaining due process for the criminally accused, while also providing an effective institutional forum that prosecutes and codifies international understandings of human rights abuses.
While in law school, John engages in international human rights law through his participation in the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). This work has allowed him to supplement his academic work with real-world legal clinical experience aiding an indigent Iraqi refugee family with their request for resettlement in the United States.
“Although this process has demonstrated to me the many hurdles that exist for lawyers practicing in the international realm, it has also motivated me to improve my skills and competencies to make me a more effective advocate,”
Having just honed his practical legal talents through a summer externship in the Central District of California, John looks forward to furthering his training as a member of the clinic this year
Kelsey McGregor Perry, 2L
From a young age, Kelsey McGregor Perry was influenced by the example of her great-grandparents, who participated in the Dutch Underground during World War II by harboring Jews in Holland.
“Working in the clinic is an opportunity for me to embrace the vision engrained in me by own family- that we have a responsibility to our neighbors.”
“As Christians, their safety was not in direct peril from the Nazi regime, and yet they chose to challenge the perpetration of violence against the Jewish community,” Kelsey said. “Many look back and conclude that such humane actions were right, and that more people should have stood up against the Nazi authorities. As a result, we frequently overlook the parallels between our current world and theirs. We too are surrounded by violence and slavery, yet these issues often go ignored because they do not affect our lives directly.”
Before entering law school, Kelsey consulted for several nonprofits and completed two degrees in Public Health. While completing her Master of Public Health, Kelsey interned at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and completed a systematic review evaluating the impact of social determinants on human trafficking in Southeast Asia. Kelsey also worked with the International Rescue Committee and faculty at her university to develop and instruct an undergraduate refugee and migrant health course. Kelsey was deeply affected by her work with the refugee community, particularly by the resiliency and bravery demonstrated by her refugee friends.
Kelsey interned with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria, where she performed policy and case law analysis for the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Upon returning from Austria, she assisted Bet Tzedek in developing a client education manual for a new component of their reputed Holocaust Reparations Program.
Kelsey is eager to continue her education by working with the clinic this year, where she anticipates gaining practical experience combatting some of the most egregious human rights violations of our time.
Kayleigh McGuinness, 2L
Kayleigh McGuinness was first introduced to human rights atrocities as a young girl when she learned that one of her childhood friends was a survivor of the Bosnian Muslim genocide in the early 1990s. This inspired many of her educational choices that put her on the path toward a career in international human rights law.
“In 2009, she traveled with a team of volunteer doctors and students to Honduras to provide much-needed medical care to remote villages and towns shortly after the military coup.”
Growing up 20 miles from the United States-Mexico border in San Diego, Kayleigh had the opportunity to volunteer in Tijuana. Her experiences honed her Spanish language skills and allowed her to engage in projects addressing the harsh realities of poverty.
As an undergraduate at UCLA, she joined the Global Medical Brigades, an organization that brings basic medical care to impoverished regions of the world. In 2009, she traveled with a team of volunteer doctors and students to Honduras to provide much-needed medical care to remote villages and towns shortly after the military coup.
“Although not necessarily the product of human rights violations, the lack of basic care given to these marginalized citizens was a product of extreme poverty, an issue that also underlies a number of human rights issues,” Kayleigh said.
As a Political Science major, Kayleigh took numerous classes on international law and comparative politics that opened her eyes to other human rights challenges in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
As a first-year law student at USC Kayleigh worked to combat these challenges by volunteering with Street Law and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP).
“Victims of persecution, torture, slavery, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide all deserve social justice, and it is through the International Human Rights Clinic that I hope I can help make even the smallest impact in resolving pressing human rights issues,” she said.