A daughter of Mexican immigrants, Magally Ortiz-Rojas has witnessed firsthand the hardships and struggles of family and others in the Hispanic community in their pursuit of U.S. citizenship.

Ortiz-Rojas––a future change agent and immigration law advocate––aspires to become an attorney to assist others in navigating the path to naturalization. She wants to discover ways to eliminate financial and language barriers that her family fought to overcome.

“When I was in high school, I decided to pursue a career in which I can help people,” Ortiz-Rojas said. “I have a passion for serving others.” 

The Lumberton native is enrolled in the political science pre-law track program at UNC Pembroke. This summer, she’s being exposed to the law, law school and the legal profession as a member of the Roadmap Scholars Initiative at the University of Virginia Law School. The program aims to help them become competitive applicants to the nation’s top law schools.

“I’m getting exposure to what classes will be like in law school. They are providing us with great resources. We are talking with professors, networking with UVA Law alumni and hearing stories about their career paths after law school,” said Ortiz-Rojas, a junior and the first in her family to attend college.

Advocacy is nothing new to Ortiz-Rojas. She serves in several leadership roles at UNCP as a member of the Model UN Team and manager of the CARE Resource Center––the university’s food pantry. Last fall, she was awarded the Community Impact Student Award for outstanding leadership and service. She is also a Chancellor’s Ambassador and was recently sworn in as student body vice president.

“It was a good feeling being elected by my peers,” she said. “It’s been a lot of work so far, but this is what I like to do. I’ve been into advocacy since high school and being elected SGA vice president and elevated that platform. I plan to advocate for all students and connect them with various resources to help them succeed academically.”