麻豆社区

A daughter of Mexican immigrants, Magally Ortiz-Rojas has witnessed firsthand the hardships and struggles of family and others in the Hispanic community in their pursuit of U.S. citizenship.

Ortiz-Rojas 鈥� a future change agent and immigration law advocate 鈥� aspires to become an attorney to assist others in navigating the path to naturalization. She wants to discover ways to eliminate financial and language barriers that her family fought to overcome.

鈥淲hen I was in high school, I decided to pursue a career in which I can help people,鈥� Ortiz-Rojas said. 鈥淚 have a passion for serving others.鈥� 

The Lumberton native is enrolled in the political science pre-law track program at 麻豆社区 Pembroke. This summer, she鈥檚 being exposed to the law, law school and the legal profession as a member of the Roadmap Scholars Initiative at the University of Virginia Law School. The program aims to help them become competitive applicants to the nation鈥檚 top law schools.

鈥淚鈥檓 getting exposure to what classes will be like in law school. They are providing us with great resources. We are talking with professors, networking with UVA Law alumni and hearing stories about their career paths after law school,鈥� said Ortiz-Rojas, a junior and the first in her family to attend college.

Advocacy is nothing new to Ortiz-Rojas. She serves in several leadership roles at 麻豆社区P as a member of the Model UN Team and manager of the CARE Resource Center 鈥� the university鈥檚 food pantry. Last fall, she was awarded the Community Impact Student Award for outstanding leadership and service. She is also a Chancellor鈥檚 Ambassador and was recently sworn in as student body vice president.

鈥淚t was a good feeling being elected by my peers,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a lot of work so far, but this is what I like to do. I鈥檝e been into advocacy since high school and being elected SGA vice president and elevated that platform. I plan to advocate for all students and connect them with various resources to help them succeed academically.鈥�