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Ashley S. Silberhorn
August 2010
The VLP is pleased to
announce
that Ashley Silberhorn
has been
selected as our
Outstanding Law
Student Volunteer for the
month
of August. As a 2L,
Ashley has
volunteered with the VLP
Domestic
Relations Clinic. She is
exceptionally passionate
about
helping members of her
local
community. She serves
VLP
clients with kindness and
stead-
fast dedication. The VLP
is
fortunate to have her as
a volunteer.
Ashley has demonstrated
this
same compassion and
commitment to serving her community for many years.
After she arrived in
Tucson, Ashley served as a volunteer for Young Life, a local
youth ministry program.
She also interned with both the Pima County Public
Defender’s Office and the
Office of U.S. Investigations during her time as an
undergraduate at the
University of Arizona. After graduating magna cum laude
in 2004 with a Bachelor
of Arts in Psychology, Ashley returned to school to
receive her Arizona State
Teacher Certification. Thereafter, Ashley began
working for Flowing Wells
Junior High as a social studies and special education
mathematics teacher. At
Flowing Wells she sponsored the National Junior
Honor Society and
tirelessly worked one-on-one with English Language Learners
and special education
students to meet their individual, educational needs. In
2009, she entered the
University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law
where she has excelled
and is in the top 25% of her class.
When Ashley entered law
school at the University of Arizona, she wanted to
stay involved with her
community. She told us that, “I decided to study law so
that I would be able to
help others navigate the legal system. By volunteering
at the VLP I can
accomplish this goal and receive valuable practice interacting
with clients.” As a VLP
volunteer, Ashley tells us that she has gained a greater
insight into the law and
the challenges it can present to individuals who are
unfamiliar with the
justice system. She said, “I have learned that the justice
system is not necessarily
equally available to everyone. It takes a variety of
resources to advocate
effectively for oneself… The VLP lawyers are skilled at
instilling clients with
confidence in their ability to advocate for themselves.”
Ashley’s assistance as a
volunteer in the VLP Domestic Relations Clinic has
certainly benefited both
clients and lawyers in achieving this goal.
If Ashley can get away
from her busy volunteering and school schedule, she
likes to unwind by hiking
and traveling. Last summer, she traveled with friends
on a week-long
backpacking trip along the West Coast Trail in British Columbia.
Although they endured a
number of “hang-ups” along their journey, Ashley says
she appreciated the
natural beauty she encountered along the way and “felt no
guilt eating a lot of
fried bar-food when [they] were done!” Ashley remarked that
her dream job would be
“to get paid to travel or to go to school”, but unfortunately
she has not found a way
to do so just yet. We hope one day she might find a
way… and let us in on her
secret! In the meanwhile, she finds a temporary
escape from her hectic
schedule by indulging in MTV reality shows.
Ashley’s hard work,
phenomenal academic performance and positive
contributions to Tucson
make her stand out as an exceptional VLP student
volunteer. We are
grateful for her contributions to the VLP and to our
community.
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Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
