Mikaëla Lavandero

I am a rising junior at Princeton University pursuing a degree in sociology with minors in cognitive science and creative writing. I was born and raised in New York City before briefly living in Cambridge, Massachusetts towards the end of high school.

Speaking both French and Spanish at home, I had always been interested in pursuing linguistics and integrating languages in my work. During the summer of 2023, I interned for Americans for Immigrant Justice, a non-profit in Miami, Florida. I was a legal assistant and helped with various forms and motions for court as well as interviewed clients over the phone and in person at Broward Transitional Center. All of our clients were detained immigrants seeking legal advice. I conducted one-hour interviews with each of them, often translating between French, Spanish, and English, before passing along their information to our staff attorneys who provided legal advice. Although fascinated by immigration law, I have had most of my experience working for organizations in the criminal justice system. I interned for the Emancipating Initiative, a non-profit in Boston with the goal of ending life sentences without parole. I was able to speak with our founder, Derrick Washington, who is currently incarcerated, about our goals and initiatives as an organization. I worked alongside staff attorneys who provided legal advice and aid to our clients behind bars. I also volunteered for a UCLA Law data project that helped track COVID-19 cases and vaccination rates behind bars in various ICE detention facilities during the summer of 2021.

On campus, I am the vice president of Princeton Students for Immigrant Empowerment (PSIE) and the French Language Head for the Princeton University Language Project (PULP). Through both of these organizations, I have been able to foster my passion for languages and immigration law. I am also part of the staff of our daily newspaper The Daily Princetonian and I copy edit for one of our campus literary journals The Nassau Weekly. I am also a student volunteer for a program called El Centro where I teach English to Princeton University staff and I volunteer with Solidaridad, an immigration organization that does similar work to my internship with Americans for Immigrant Justice.

Through these various experiences, I have learned the importance of communication and dialogue and I am thrilled to join the team. I was introduced to Sherman Teichman through my mother, who was in Sherman’s EPIIC class of 1994. I look forward to learning from my peers and colleagues through the impressive work of the Trebuchet team.