Lesly Castro is currently a student at UC Berkeley hoping to receive a degree in Legal Studies with a minor in Public Policy. She is a first-generation college student from Salinas, CA. As someone who is the daughter of immigrant parents, and as a person who has first-hand witnessed the hardships of her family and community, she feels it is important to address and bring awareness to the necessities of underrepresented communities. Lesly is most passionate about immigration, education equity, and criminal justice reform. After graduating from law school, she hopes to be able to return to her hometown of Salinas, CA to serve and help her community in any way possible.
On campus, Lesly holds multiple board positions including that of Vice President for Latinos in the Law (LIL) at Cal. She is also extremely in touch with her culture, working also at the Chicanx Latinx Student Development Office. Last summer, she interned at a non-profit organization that focused on providing legal services to undocumented community members at the Social Justice Collaborative. Here, she was given the opportunity to represent undocumented community members in their detention proceedings and help many attain legal status. This summer, Lesly hopes to intern for a local government agency that is involved with issues that directly affect and pertain to underrepresented and marginalized communities.
Major(s): Legal Studies
Minor(s): Public Policy