CAMDEN -- Maria Hernandez, a third-year student in the Rutgers University School of Law at Camden, has been named president of the Hispanic National Bar Associations law student division.
Hernandez, 30, was elected to this position during the annual conference of the HNBAs law student division in San Francisco on Sept. 2. In this capacity, she will seek to encourage Latino/a law students nationwide to become involved in the HNBA and to engage in the social, political, and academic promotion of their communities and profession.
The HNBA law student division has more than 1,000 members across the county. Eighteen regional presidents represent the interests of their law students in their geographic area.
At the Rutgers-Camden law school, Hernandez has served as president of Alianza, the Latino/a law students organization. Through the Rutgers-Camden law schools pro bono programs in the areas of bankruptcy and domestic violence, she provides free assistance to citizens who otherwise would not have access to legal support.
Hernandez has earned numerous scholarships from such organizations as the Camden County Bar Association, the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Hispanic Bar Associations, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense Fund.
A resident of Camden, she received her bachelors and masters degrees in social work from Rutgers-Camden, and has served as a family service therapist for Burlington County. She intends to practice in the areas of criminal, family, and juvenile law.
The Hispanic National Bar Association consists of 25,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, and law students committed to the increased representation of Hispanics in all sectors of the legal profession.
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