Aspiring Latino Lawyers: From Campus Club to Statewide Movement
- Alex Sanchez
- Sep 19
- 5 min read
Authored by Alex Ray Sanchez, July 25th, 2025
With courage, passion, boldness, and community at our core, Aspiring Latino Lawyers was born, not from experience, but from urgency.
In my Junior year at the University of Arizona, I enrolled in POL 330: Minority Groups and American Politics. It was in that class, taught by Dr. Frank González, that I learned a statistic that changed everything for me:
That number haunted me. It wasn’t just a gap in representation; it was a reflection of systemic exclusion. We’re the second-largest demographic in the nation, yet nearly invisible in the very system that decides so much of our lives.
No one was doing anything about it. So I decided to try.
From Nervous to Necessary
I had never led anything before. I had no experience running clubs, no nonprofit background, no training in organizing. But I knew we needed something, so I created Aspiring Latino Lawyers as a student group at UArizona in the summer of 2022 before my senior year.
My first student signup was my younger sister, Alyssa. And truthfully, she was the first person to fully believe in what I was trying to do. She showed up, stood by me, and helped turn the idea into something real. That fall semester, she was the reason we even had members. She helped spread the word, supported me when at times I had no idea what I was doing, and was fully behind the vision from day one.
Our first tabling event took place at the Adalberto & Ana Guerrero Student Center, a place rooted in decades of being a valuable resource to Latinos on the campus. That center gave us more than space, it gave us encouragement and visibility. It’s now being consolidated by the university into a “multicultural hub,” and I want to name it clearly while I am on this point: that space mattered, and every single resource center mattered and they all still do.
We had no banner. No merch. Just a sign-up sheet printed in the library and a box of pan dulce from La Estrella Bakery.
I was nervous, terrified, really. I worried no one would stop at the table. I worried people would think the name Aspiring Latino Lawyers was too narrow, too specific. I thought some students might hear the name and assume it wasn’t for them. That it was too niche. That it wouldn’t work.
But thankfully that voice of doubt was dead wrong.
Students came. And something beautiful happened.
They didn’t just stop by, they leaned in. They asked questions. They shared their own stories. And a few of them, people Alyssa and I had never met, offered to help build something they believed in.
That moment taught me something I’ll never forget:When you lead with community, identity isn’t a barrier, it’s a bridge.
That’s how our first executive board came together. Not from resumes or status, but from shared purpose. They didn’t know us, but they believed in what we were building, and they chose to be part of it.
I’ll be honest: that first semester was rough, and that was on me. I made mistakes. I didn’t know how to lead. But the people around me stepped up anyway. They carried it with me. And together, we figured it out.
By spring semester, I was more prepared. I took the role seriously. I communicated better, had an amazing team, and started organizing with more intention. We didn’t just grow, we grew together.
From Club to Nonprofit
After graduating in 2023, I couldn’t just walk away. I knew the need didn’t stop with me. In the summer after I had graduated I reflected on my time in college and the impact ALL had on me, my now friends, and the campus community. I thought to myself “imagine if we made clubs just like ALL at ASU, what if we also brought it to the high schools, what about the community colleges”, then I began thinking about it as a potential statewide or even national movement to empower communities underrepresented in the law.
So I turned the club into a nonprofit. I had no idea what a 501(c)(3) really was. I read IRS guides in my room, figured out how to write bylaws, how to even get a 501(c)(3) status, and learned as I went. I wasn’t an Executive Director, I became one.
In spring 2024, we got our IRS determination letter. Since then, now that we are heading into the fall of 2025, Aspiring Latino Lawyers has grown into a statewide organization with active chapters at:
Arizona State University
The University of Arizona
Pueblo High School
…and we’re preparing to launch at Grand Canyon University in 2026.
We’ve also launched Aspiring Black Lawyers at UArizona, with dual ALL and ABL chapters coming to GCU next year.
What We Believe
Aspiring Latino Lawyers doesn’t just prepare students for law school. We equip them to lead. We help them find their voice, advocate for their communities, and challenge the systems that have excluded us for too long.
This is not about resume padding. This is about real change.
When Latino students and all underrepresented groups aren’t in the legal field, we lose critical voices in the rooms where decisions are made. And when we’re invisible in those spaces, injustice is allowed to thrive.
That’s why we lead with values:
Courage to act before you feel ready
Passion that fuels the drive to make change
Boldness to imagine something new and speak for what is right
Community that makes the work possible and worth it
Where We're Going
By 2030, we plan to build a vibrant West Coast network of high school and college chapters, reaching thousands of students who will become the next generation of lawyers, advocates, and system-changers.
But this isn’t just a nonprofit. This is a movement.
We’re building the kind of legal future we were never handed. We’re making sure the next generation doesn’t have to ask if they belong in this field, they’ll know they do. This is also a future where our next generation of lawyers, policy makers, and activists will make sure to always lead with community.
This movement is open to everyone who believes in justice, access, and community-rooted leadership, because representation isn't just a Latino issue. It's a justice issue.
If you believe in justice, in youth leadership, and in building the kind of legal system that reflects the people it serves, this space is for you. We are open to everyone who wants to be a part of our movement.
Subscribe, share, and join the ALL community today!
Comments