I moved to Graz, Austria as a foreign exchange student in January 2022. Two weeks after my arrival, I sat in a train compartment with a Ukrainian family fleeing the Russian invasion. The family’s travel itinerary was written in German, a language foreign to them.Familiar with the overwhelming nature of Austrian transportation, I offered to help. I translated the German instructions into English, explained the route, and wrote down important German words to know when traveling.

After we clarified the itinerary, the family showed me photos of their home in Ukraine, and I told them about my life in Oklahoma. They informed me of their plans to relocate, and we compared the reception of refugees in Austria to that of the United States. We established an immediate connection as we all navigated a new country quite different from home. I was a student at the University of Graz, where I enrolled in courses within the Department of Law. In International Law, I analyzed the global response to the Russian invasion and studied the available legal remedies for human rights abuses. For my semester project, I presented on the role of international institutions in promoting human rights during times of conflict. Studying the relief provided by legal institutions solidified my choice to pursue a career in law.

After returning home, I worked at an immigration law firm in Oklahoma City. I maintained the firm’s physical and digital files, assisted the staff attorneys, and wrote asylum, citizenship, and legal residency briefs. The first time I filed an asylum application, I had just started my position at the firm. My boss called while I was driving home to explain that a family of five was seeking asylum. They entered the country fifty-one weeks before contacting the firm, and to apply for asylum without proving extraordinary or changed circumstances, we needed to file the application in one week.

With two of our staff attorneys on leave to study for the bar exam, I was responsible for the case. I met the family, recorded their story, and explained what the process entailed. I asked them to write affidavits, and we contacted their family members for letters of support. Over the next week, I completed the asylum application. USCIS will return a petition for any discrepancy, so I rigorously checked that the information was correct. I researched country conditions, communicated with a translator, and sifted through affidavits to write the brief detailing their credible fear of persecution. After giving it to my boss for review, the application was successfully filed before the one-year deadline. While at the firm, I managed several petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). I filed the VAWA application for a client seeking legal residency in the United States independent of her husband. The client reported physical violence and emotional abuse, which was confirmed by medical records and a psychological evaluation. The client also disclosed her survival of an attempted kidnapping in her country of birth.

Returning to the country was not an option, and neither was remaining with her abusive partner in the U.S. I asked her to provide evidence of abuse, and in the following weeks, I analyzed text messages, phone bills, and medical records to write the VAWA brief. I filed the petition, and I am hopeful that it will be approved within the year. The cases I handled at the firm were sensitive, but assisting clients as they found safety in the United States was rewarding. I developed an understanding of the law as an instrument for justice and protection of human rights. I seek a formal legal education so that I may better serve survivors of gender-based violence.

How a Train Ride and an Asylum Case Cemented My Calling in Human Rights Law

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