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Aysha Shen
September 2010
The VLP is pleased
to announce
that Aysha Shen
has been selected
as our Outstanding
Law Student
Volunteer for the
month of
September. As a
2L, Aysha has
volunteered in the
VLP’s Service
Center Clinic at
the Pima Superior
Court as well as
in the Bankruptcy
Court. Aysha has
gone above and
beyond what is
expected from a
volunteer, and she
exudes an
overwhelming
passion to help
others. She has a
wonderful,
positive attitude
and an energizing
personality that
helps her establish
a great rapport
with clients. The VLP is very proud to count Aysha among its
volunteers.
Aysha, born in
Bulgaria, lived as a refugee in both Turkey and Greece before
moving to Phoenix,
Arizona when she received political asylum from the U.S.
in 1990. She
received her undergraduate degree in Accounting and Marketing
as well as a
Master of Science in Taxation from Arizona State University.
She chose to move
on to the University of Arizona for law school because
when she attended
the school’s preview day, she found that “professors and
fellow students
seemed very friendly, accomplished and supportive of each
other.” This
encouragement was very appealing to her. Since attending the
University of
Arizona, Aysha has become involved not only with the Volunteer
Lawyers Program
but also numerous student organizations including the
Student Body
Association, the International Law Society, Law Women’s
Association, Law
Students for Reproductive Justice, LEAD Mentoring
Program, Business
Law Society and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.
Aysha began
volunteering with the VLP because she wanted to help people in
need while gaining
experience with direct client contact. In the beginning, she
admits to feeling
slightly intimidated. Soon after, she became heavily involved
and realized what
a rewarding experience this really was. She has learned how
important and
needed attorneys are and she enjoyed seeing “successful, busy
attorneys give
their time to help people in the community that could not afford
their services
otherwise.” She now knows that money isn’t the most important
factor and hopes
that she can provide these types of services when she
becomes an
attorney.
Aysha admits that
law school has changed her view of the legal system. She is
now considerate of
both sides of the argument, and she recognizes that our legal
system is not
perfect. She says that her favorite professor in law school thus
far
has been Professor
Massaro. Aysha felt encouraged by this amazing lecturer
who forced her to
“think about multiple aspects of the law.” She felt as if her
professor was
telling a story in every lecture and was constantly intrigued.
Aysha’s dream job would be working for the United Nations. She would
like to
travel to
developing countries in order to research their culture and
communities
and discover ways
to improve their lives while remaining true to their roots and
beliefs. She
would also love the opportunity to spend her summers in her favorite
vacation
destination of Barcelona – a place that she describes as “a
beautiful
country with so
much to do and see.” With such a busy schedule and
promising future,
Aysha still manages to find time for herself. She feels that
physical activity
is “a great way to relieve stress,” so she makes time for going
to the gym or
hiking every day. She also confesses to enjoying watching shows
like Jersey
Shore and the Housewives of New Jersey. As she puts it,
“after
class and reading
all day why not watch a show that requires absolutely no
brain activity?”
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Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
