Officers of the Hispanic Law Students Association include, from left to right, Outreach Chair David Gonzalez, Vice President Miriam Grant, President Yenifer Flores, Secretary Christina Ryan, and Treasurer Zachary Smith. Professor Lisa Avalos (not pictured) serves as Faculty Advisor.
The Hispanic Law Students Association helps foster a connected and inclusive campus community at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center by hosting events that celebrate Latinx culture and promote meaningful collaborations among all students.
“HLSA’s mission at LSU Law is to create a community for Latinx students to meet new people and celebrate Latin culture,” said 3L and HLSA president Yenifer Flores, noting all students are encouraged to join the organization and enjoy its events.
National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, will bring several HLSA-hosted events to the Law Center, including a movie night on Monday, Oct. 4. On Monday, Oct. 9, the student organization will host its Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration from 12:40 to 1:40 p.m. on the Law Center Plaza, which will include a Mariachi band performance and Hispanic food.
“Law school is stressful enough, so in HLSA we celebrate our Hispanic culture with fun and stress-relieving activities for all to enjoy,” said Flores, who won the 2023 LSU Law Transactional Negotiation Competition along with teammate Sarah Procopio. “One of my favorite aspects of being a leader in HLSA is planning events like our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month for the community.”
Flores said she hopes HLSA programming helps promote greater diversity at LSU Law by providing students, faculty, and staff with additional opportunities to connect with peers of all heritages. She said finding a community in HLSA as a first-year law student encouraged her to serve the organization as 2022-2023 treasurer and 2023-2024 president. As she begins her final year at LSU Law, Flores said she is confident that HLSA will continue to be a thriving student organization at LSU Law for years to come.
“When I was a 1L, the HLSA leaders at the time took me under their wing and became my mentors,” she said. “There were times early on when I felt like I didn’t have anyone who related to my experiences and cultural differences, but getting involved in HLSA gave me a support system and boosted my confidence because I knew I wasn’t alone. Now that I’m a leader in HLSA, I want to do the same thing for the current 1Ls.”
HLSA membership is open to all LSU Law students, and prospective members can get involved by attending the organization’s meetings and events, or by requesting access to the organization’s GroupMe to stay up to date with HLSA news.
“I’m excited to watch HLSA continue to grow at LSU Law each year,” Flores said. “This organization was such an important part of my law school experience, and I want it to be the same for future LSU Law students.”
