UTB-TSC graduate credits pre-law academy
Layla Fawn Garcia’s law school career looks to be off to a good start.
“I was actually the first student called up on the first class day,” she said.
The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College graduate is now a first-year juris doctor candidate at The University of Texas School of Law in Austin. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2013.
She is taking courses in criminal law, constitutional law, torts and legal research and writing for fall semester, which began Aug. 25. She described the classes as demanding and stimulating.
“UT Law is arguably the best public law school in the country and we’re fortunate enough for it to be located in our own great state and capitol city,” Garcia said. “The opportunity to study here is just incredible.”
Garcia, a licensed pharmacy technician and Realtor, is interested in medical law and property law.
“I find myself looking at many legal issues from a policy perspective,” she said. “I’m very attracted to the concept of sweeping societal change through public policy decisions, so perhaps I have a future in the Legislature.”
Garcia prepared for the rigors of law school by attending UTB-TSC’s Filemon B. Vela Pre-law Academy in summer 2009.
The academy meets each first summer session and enables participants to meet attorneys, learn about the law school application process, visit courthouses and prepare for the Law School Admission Test.
The academy is housed in the College of Applied Technology and General Studies.
Garcia said participating in the pre-law academy helped her think about the law school process early.
“Definitely apply for a seat in the pre-law academy the summer before you would like to attend law school,” she said. “Between preparing for and taking the LSAT, registering with the Law School Admission Council, submitting applications and waiting for decisions, a full year passes by rapidly.”
Garcia was born in Ketchikan, Ak. and lived in Brownsville for 20 years. She graduated from the South Texas High School for Health Professions in Mercedes.
Garcia, 25, received a bachelor’s degree in government from UTB-TSC in May 2009 and worked on a master’s degree in public policy and management during the 2009-10 academic year.
“UTB-TSC offered me an excellent undergraduate and graduate education,” she said.
To learn more about the pre-law academy, contact director Karen Betancourt at (956) 882-7256 or karen.betancourt@utb.edu.
