The Pro Bono Spotlight honors Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) volunteers and the important work they do to help us fulfill our mission. This month, we recognize Rachel Ho, Citizenship Coordinator at Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), where her work focuses on helping members of the community with their naturalization process through managing weekly citizenship clinics and assisting clients in English and Vietnamese, both, in-person and over the phone when needed.
Rachel Ho joined Advancing Justice Southern California as an intern in Fall of 2020 through a job posting on her university’s career page. She interned from 2020 until April of 2022. During her time as an intern, she was a full-time student at the University of California, Riverside while also working as a part-time peer educator at her university. While she was an intern, she assisted the AJSOCAL’s Orange County office with Vietnamese clients weekly during the pandemic. Once she graduated, she transitioned to our LA office as the Citizenship Coordinator for our Citizenship Project in April of 2022. Roughly 2 weeks after she onboarded, she was sent to the Eastcoast with our Network Manager, Giff Goldman, to attend the New Americans Campaign Conference where she met with advocates across the nation that practice Naturalization. As of now, Rachel is currently awaiting approval for her Department of Justice (DOJ) accreditation where if approved, she will be able to assist clients in their legal review process. From intern to full-time employee, Rachel now also manages and trains our Citizenship Project interns.
We asked Rachel to discuss her volunteer work with AJSOCAL:
What prompted you to get involved?
When I first learned about the organization, I found out through one of our current Managing Attorneys Joseph Navales. He had posted a listing on the professional networking page at my undergraduate university. At the time I was looking to find an internship to gain some experience in the legal field, in hopes of going to law school. I always thought about potentially going into the legal field, but I didn’t really know where to start. I wanted to try something new and the job posting for the legal intern position seemed like a challenge that I wanted to take. Additionally, I was intrigued by what AJSOCAL stood for, and it was something that I wanted to try to get involved with.
What did you enjoy most about your pro bono experience?
When I first started it was very challenging, especially since everything was virtual due to the pandemic. However, I was able to work closely with the attorneys and was trained to complete the Application for Naturalization; also known as the N400 for clients. I noticed that I was able to pick up red flags quickly on applications to notify the attorney. I felt like I was learning a lot and getting to talk to so many different types of clients with different stories. I really enjoyed the work that I was doing as an intern. I felt like I was making such a big difference in my community. Even if I was just filing out a quick form for a client, it made me happy to help them as much as I could. Interning at AJSOCAL gave me a lot of real-life experience I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else.
What have you learned or how have you been personally affected by your experience as an Advancing Justice volunteer?
As an AJSOCAL volunteer, there were so many different types of people I got to interact with. When I first started, I worked with an extensive number of Vietnamese clients in filing out their immigration forms. I not only learned more about my community, but I was able to take part in their journey of becoming a U.S. citizen. There were many clients that didn’t have anyone to help them with the types of forms that AJSOCAL could help with. I realized after volunteering that there isn’t much instruction given to clients about the immigration process. There is also a lot of misinformation out in the community as well. Being able to speak Vietnamese to clients made them feel more comfortable in their naturalization process and having this experience made me want to continue to pursue a career in immigration in the future.
Do you have an inspirational story you can briefly tell about your pro bono experience?
In 2020, there was a client that I had worked with. He was a client that required quite a bit of follow-up throughout his entire naturalization process and his English was not the best. He was constantly reaching out and was worried he would not pass his English language test. After a lot of back and forth and some studying, I learned that he had passed his interview. He was extremely thankful and to this day he continues to reach out and check in on me from time to time. He is very grateful for the great work that AJSOCAL does, and he was happy that he was able to have someone help him throughout his process.
What advice would you give other associates who want to participate in pro bono work?
One advice that I could give to those that are interested in pro-bono work, is to volunteer as much as you can. The most valuable things I learned as an intern was by getting a lot of hands-on experience, which you can rarely find anywhere else. Having this type of experience is something that if I had to turn back time, I would do it over again. It’s truly a rewarding experience and I can confidently say that it has contributed to my growth personally and professionally. My hope is for everyone to have the opportunity to be able to participate in pro-bono work.
To learn about volunteer opportunities at AJSOCAL, please email Nathan Vuong, Volunteer Operations Analyst at nvuong@ajsocal.org.
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About Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
AJSOCAL is celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout the year of 2023 with a series of events that gather the community, amplify the forces of good and propel the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) movement forward. The anniversary builds upon the milestones of social justice that unified Asian Americans upon AJSOCAL’s founding in 1983. The non-profit is the nation’s largest legal and civil rights organization for AAPI. AJSOCAL serves more than 15,000 individuals and organizations every year. Through direct services, impact litigation and policy advocacy AJSOCAL focuses on the most vulnerable members of AAPI communities while building a strong voice for civil rights and social justice. More info is at AJSOCAL.org