Meet Laura Zabaleta Arias: How This Graduate Found Community, Confidence, and New Opportunities at CU Denver
Choosing CU Denver was easy for Laura Zabaleta Arias. The criminal justice program in the School of Public Affairs (SPA) appealed to her. She loved the diverse student body and the Auraria Campus, which felt both collegiate and exciting due to its downtown Denver location. But most of all, CU Denver was close to her parents, who at the time lived in Aurora and did not speak English.
As the only child to two Colombian immigrant parents, Zabaleta Arias’ family relocated to Colorado in her last year of high school—and, when choosing a college, she felt she had to stay close to them. “I always knew that I had to be a support for them,” she said. “We all made the sacrifice to come to this country, and it was for my education.”
Today, Zabaleta Arias is about to graduate with her bachelor of arts in criminal justice. Her parents are settled, and she’s preparing to move to the east coast to attend law school this fall—she’s already received admission offers from eight schools. Her drive and determination propelled her to reach these heights. Along the way, she leveraged empowering resources, got hands-on experience through impactful internships and on-campus work, and found an authentic community at CU Denver that supported her as a first-generation, immigrant student.
Video: Meet Laura
Finding Her Community
Zabaleta Arias’ journey at CU Denver started with a scholarship offer. She was accepted to the University Honors and Leadership Program (UHL), which provides students with funding for tuition and classes, opportunities to build community among their UHL peers, and an honors scholar’s certificate when they graduate. It set the tone for the rest of her academic experience. “Right from the beginning, I found CU Denver was my home,” Zabaleta Arias said.
She plugged into the Latinx Student Association and Alpha Phi Sigma to find even more peer connections. Even though everyone’s story was their own, she related to something in each of them. She found many peers she felt she had shared experiences with, and that gave her a sense of community. “Those stories have been absolutely amazing,” Zabaleta Arias said.
Finding Her Voice
Zabaleta Arias came to CU Denver on a mission: Go to law school and become a lawyer. Being a criminal justice major in SPA allowed her to focus on the policy and community-engagement aspects of law that she hopes to pursue in her career, but she made sure to take advantage of class offerings in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ (CLAS) Law Studies program, as well. She loved the Law Studies courses but, at first, she struggled. “One of the challenges I had, not only in high school, but my first year at CU Denver, was public speaking,” she said. “I was always insecure about my accent.”
She was reticent to speak up in class. But, one professor in the Law Studies program challenged her to not hold herself back: Omar Swartz, PhD, JD. “I was able to find that confidence and be more active in the classroom but also outside,” she said. “I realized that I have a voice and, as a lawyer, I’ll be using that voice to advocate for others.”
Advising that Made a Difference
Zabaleta Arias’ academic advisor, Nora Scanlon, also encouraged her and connected her to further opportunities within CU Denver and beyond. “She was absolutely fantastic,” Zabaleta Arias said. In addition to giving her advice on which courses to register for, she pointed her to a fellowship through a nonprofit called Law School… Yes We Can. It’s a competitive, application-based program that provides awardees with resources like scholarship funding, four mentors at different points in their law journeys, Law School Admission Test (LSAT) preparation, and more.
Her advisor also encouraged her to apply for an on-campus job with the Student Government Association (SGA), where she served as the chief justice for two years and later as the chief of staff.
Hands-On Experience
Now, Zabaleta Arias is more sure than ever about becoming a lawyer. That’s in part because the internship experiences she’s had as a student have shown her that she loves the work and has what it takes to succeed at it. She completed one internship with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, a position she got connected to via Law School… Yes We Can. It gave her insight into the nexus of law and policy, which she hopes to explore further. She also worked as a legal assistant at the Aurora law firm Joseph & Hall P.C. The firm focuses on immigration law, which is the area of law Zabaleta Arias feels most passionate about.
What was perhaps most influential to her, though, was her experience as an immigrant. “I had the challenge and the opportunity to be the only English speaker in the house,” she said. “Seeing my own parents struggle really motivated me to be an advocate for the voices around me.” She’s intentionally applied to law schools close to the nation’s capital, so she can continue exploring where law and policy intersect to shape the lives of people like her parents. “I want to go into the court and truly help the immigrant who is not able to advocate for themselves, to find their own path, and find their home in this country,” Zabaleta Arias said. For the last four years, that home, for her, has been CU Denver. Now she’s ready for her next big move.