Of her volunteer experience, Linda says that LIFT provided her with insight and knowledge into the intricate complications of poverty "by providing a face and live examples of the vast differences and similarities that poor people experience." She credits LIFT for exposing her to a variety of public policy issues that she had no familiarity with before becoming involved with LIFT, including housing, legal aid, and public benefits.
Upon graduation, Linda volunteered as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago. Her knowledge of subsidized housing issues and public benefits from LIFT lent itself to her work with attorneys who represented both public housing and Section 8 voucher tenants. As a staff member with the Housing Law Project, Linda worked with a team of attorneys representing subsidized housing residents and public housing tenant councils in discussions about the development of mixed-income housing as a part of Chicago's Plan for Transformation, a city initiative to redevelop Chicago’s public housing.
Like many other college students, Linda knew early on that after graduation she wanted to do something to help other people. But she credits LIFT with helped her clarify what exactly she hoped to help them do, saying, "After LIFT, I was convinced I wanted to do something that also contributed to helping the poor achieve sustainability and independence. My experience with LIFT was the first time I began to see beyond immediate needs to focus on helping people with long-term goals that would help them become independent."
Linda is currently a third-year law student at Washington University in St. Louis with the intention of going into public interest law. She has held several internships, including roles at the Chicago District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, doing research on employment discrimination, and with two legal assistance foundations doing work to focus on legal representation for the indigent population.
Linda says, "The general area of public interest law appeals to me because, like LIFT, my work makes a tangible difference by helping families keep their apartment, get public benefits, fight discrimination, and otherwise maneuver and stand up to a confusing justice system that often penalizes them for being poor."
Linda knows that the skills she developed doing client service will ultimately help her become a better lawyer, and a more compassionate professional, saying, "I learned how to interact with a wide variety of clients who were often in very difficult situations. I learned how to be a better listener and supporter, and I learned how to balance teaching someone how to do something without belittling them or treating them like a child. I learned how to handle emotional clients and difficult personalities, and I learned how to see people as people, not their unfortunate circumstances."
