Larrisa is a Horatio Alger Scholar and first-generation Latina college student majoring in political science with an emphasis in pre-law and social and criminal justice. Her first year at Coe, Larrisa founded the first Latino organization named Latinx, after witnessing the need for advocacy for Latino students during a tense political climate. Yet, her largest passion lies in helping women and children. After witnessing generational domestic violence in her family, she vowed to change the violent cycles into powerful survivorship. She was able to make these connections due to her participation in the Denver Urban Debate League. While debating policy issues, she morphed into an advocate for women and children after running a kritikal affirmative case about the violence women face in Juarez, México and a broken justice system. The parallels she witnessed between the women in her affirmative and the Latina women in her family who experienced violence but never received justice. This pushed her to critically think about a career in law, in order to pursue justice for victims.
"Being able to analyze how the justice system failed women in Juarez and then turn around and see how the justice system was failing the women closest to me in my family made me realize that I needed to use my newfound advocacy to help them."
She is dedicated to pursuing a legal career that is focused on helping young women and children receive justice from violent crimes such as domestic violence and sex trafficking. Despite growing up in a low-income, high needs community, Larrisa has achieved a full-tuition scholarship to Coe College and completed serval legal internships to build her understanding of the law. Her vast experience interning in institutions such as the 17th Judicial District, Colorado Legal Services, and U.S. Senator Bennet's Office in Washington D.C. have propelled her desire to help victims understand their rights in the legal system and find justice. Larrisa plans to obtain her JD and become a federal prosecutor dedicated to receiving justice for women and children across the country. She was recently named a 2019 Truman Scholar and is currently applying to law school for Fall 2020.
