Cecilia C. Herrera

Ms. Herrera is entering her third year at Loyola Law School this fall.  Ms. Herrera’s interest in issues affecting children developed early as a result of her own personal experience and upbringing.  Before starting law school, Ms. Herrera worked at two different courthouses where she provided assistance to underserved populations through family law self-help centers.  Such experience led Ms. Herrera to discover that many families have had a history of dependency cases.  Hence, during the first summer after her first year at Loyola, Ms. Herrera applied for and served as a law clerk at the Children’s Law Center in Monterey Park, California.

During her second year at Loyola, Ms. Herrera took the school’s Children and the Law course, where students are introduced to the child welfare system, the delinquency system, and the constitutional rights of children and parents.  The research paper that Ms. Herrera wrote for the class titled “Decriminalizing Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation” was highly regarded by her professor.   

This summer, Ms. Herrera is working as a certified law clerk at the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, where she works on juvenile delinquency issues. 

In the fall semester of 2016, Ms. Herrera will be working at the Loyola Law School’s Youth Justice and Education Clinic, which focuses on getting youth the special education needs that their school has failed to provide.  She will also be the oncoming President of La Raza de Loyola and Chair of the newly created Stereotype Awareness Coalition (“Coalition”).  The Coalition works to raise awareness concerning biases and stereotypes related to gender, race, nationality, and religion.

Ms. Herrera hopes to work as a public defender in juvenile delinquency after graduation from law school.