Meet Two of HLAB’s Newest Members

Via the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau 

Amanda Morejon, J.D. ’16

Amanda Morejon is a 2L at HLS. Her family is from Cuba. She grew up outside of New York and is loving the quieter feel of Boston.

Q. Why HLAB?
A. I was really excited to be part of such a thoughtful and passionate community. I think I was missing that my first year. I knew there were people doing really important work, and I wanted to be near them.

Q. What surprised you about HLAB?
A. Two things. First – I was surprised by how much I liked it. I thought it would take me a bit longer to ease into it and get to know everybody and feel comfortable. In a week, I was already in love with being here. Second – I was surprised by how unproductive I was in the computer room because I love talking to people here.

Q. What don’t we know about you?
A. I am really big sleep-talker. Like full on, my dog leaves the room because I’m disturbing her so much.

Q. Thoughts on work-life balance?
A. My advice would be to trust your gut. If what you’re doing can wait and your gut is telling you to put on sweatpants and eat a pint of ice cream, then do it.

Jason McGraw, 3L at Northeastern University School of Law

Jason McGraw is a 3L at Northeastern and a 2014 HLAB Summer Counsel. From Baltimore originally, he now calls Jamaica Plain his home.

Q. Why HLAB?
A. I worked with an HLAB alum Jemel Derbali who told me that HLAB was his single most transformative experience in law school. Coming from Jemel, that carried a lot of weight with me.

Q. What surprised you about HLAB?
A. I don’t think it hit home that I was the only point of contact for my clients at the Bureau until I was actually at the Bureau and Patricio and Lee were asking me about whether I called the clients and what was happening with their cases. It’s amazing how much its 100% a student-run organization.

Q. What don’t we know about you?
A. I told my mom I wanted to be a pilot when I was 13. She wanted to scare me out of it so she told me to take a lesson. I started flying planes when I was 13 and finally got my pilot’s license when I was 24.

Q. Thoughts on work-life balance?
A. It’s important for your clients that you do step away from the work so that you’re able to see the bigger picture.