BASF recently announced the recipients of its 2013 Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of donors, five scholarships will be awarded to minority students attending Bay Area law schools this Fall.

Each recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship for the 2013-2014 school year. The scholarship may be renewable for an additional two years.

BASF’s 2013 scholarship recipients are Guadalupe Aguirre, Matthew Chris Ballard, Christina Fletes, Lidia Lopez, and Angelo Villarreal.

Guadalupe Aguirre, a student at UC Berkeley School of Law, received her undergraduate degree from UCLA in International Development Studies. Most recently she worked at the Immigration Center for Women and Children as a Legal Assistant and Case Manager. After law school she intends on pursuing a career in public interest law working with vulnerable undocumented victims of crime.

Matthew Christopher Ballard, a student at UC Hastings College of the Law, received his undergraduate degree from Fresno State University in Political Science and Business. Ballard most recently worked for the City of Wasco as the Chairman of the Planning Commission. He is the youngest person in California state history as well as first African American in the City of Wasco to have this position. Ballard is interested in pursuing a career in politics and would like to work on education reform.

Christina Fletes, a student at UC Berkeley School of Law, received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in Political Economy and Ethnic Studies. She is also currently attending Harvard Kennedy Business School of Government, and is anticipating an MMP in Public Policy in 2016. She is passionate about being an attorney and policy advocate for undocumented low wage workers.

Lidia Lopez, a student at UC Hastings College of the Law, received her undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University in Business Management and Political Science. One reason why she wanted to become a lawyer is due to the disparity of minorities, particularly Latinas in the corporate legal sector. She has recently developed an interest in intellectual property stemming from her work as a Public Affairs Manager at Mi Pueblo Foods Corporate. She aspires to pursue a career in corporate law while giving back through pro-bono opportunities.

Angelo Villarreal, a student at UC Hastings College of the Law, received his undergraduate degree from UC Santa Barbara in Global Studies. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara he moved to South Korea and taught English at the Woogjin Plus Academy. Villarreal is particularly interested in working as a criminal defense attorney or prosecutor after law school.

Since its inception in 1998, more than 85 scholarships have been awarded. The scholarships to be awarded in 2013 are the: Morrison & Foerster Foundation Scholarship; Pacific Gas and Electric Company Scholarship; Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass Scholarship; Say Hey Foundation/AT&T Scholarship, and the Lawyer Referral and Information Service Scholarship.

BASF continues to seek the assistance of law firms, corporations and individuals who are willing to help sustain this impactful and unified effort. For more information, please contact Nicole Britton-Snyder at nbrittonsnyder@sfbar.org.