
{"id":124899,"date":"2026-05-04T10:32:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=124899"},"modified":"2026-05-11T09:38:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T13:38:50","slug":"uncomfortable-truths-real-world-lawyering","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2026\/uncomfortable-truths-real-world-lawyering\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncomfortable Truths, Real-World Lawyering"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-wider has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-dark-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"3888\" height=\"2592\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa.png 3888w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-636x424.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1536x1024.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-2048x1365.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1200x800.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-992x661.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1500x1000.png 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1920x1280.png 1920w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-500x333.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1000x667.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-1984x1323.png 1984w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-450x300.png 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Ivana-Wijedasa-600x400.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 3888px) 100vw, 3888px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Student Advocacy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUncomfortable Truths, Real-World Lawyering\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">For Ivana Wijedasa (\u201926), her legal education has meant grappling with injustice\u2014and gaining the hands-on experience to challenge it.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">May 4, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/june-d-bell\/\">June D. Bell<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-dark is-style-dropcap-outlined has-dropcap-color-primary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>A freshman college class titled \u201cOppression and Change in the Contemporary United States\u201d upended Ivana Wijedasa\u2019s (\u201926) career plans. The professor urged students to acknowledge uncomfortable truths about the role of race, gender, and class in the legal system and, at the end of the semester, encouraged the class to keep grappling with their consequences. Wijedasa did\u2014and she shifted her focus from medicine to law. \u201cI realized through that experience I wanted to dedicate my career to rectifying the injustices in the legal system,\u201d she says.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Wijedasa also had a deeply personal reason for studying law. Her mother, a native of Sri Lanka, lost her legal status after she and Wijedasa\u2019s father divorced. She could no longer work legally, and she spent years living in fear of deportation. That experience made a deep impression on Wijedasa, who was 11 at the time and felt helpless. \u201cI wanted to study the law because I didn\u2019t actually like the law,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to change the law. There needs to be a way to account for populations whose voices are often not heard or incorporated into our legal system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wijedasa will be advocating with marginalized populations after graduation. She will be joining the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Jersey as a legal fellow focusing on civil rights and immigrants\u2019 rights. She plans to follow that year-long role with a clerkship and then pursue a career in juvenile defense or immigration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During law school, she prioritized opportunities for the hands-on training she knew she would need as a civil rights attorney.\u00a0In fact, BU Law\u2019s guarantee of at least one clinical opportunity to any student who desires one was a major draw for <meta charset=\"utf-8\">Wijedasa. At BU Law, <meta charset=\"utf-8\">Wijedasa had the opportunity to participate in two different law clinics, the yearlong, 12-credit\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/immigrants-rights-human-trafficking-clinic\/\" target=\"_blank\">Immigrants\u2019 Rights and Human Trafficking Program<\/a>\u00a0and the semester-long and six-credit\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/racial-justice-and-movement-lawyering-clinic\/\" target=\"_blank\">Racial Justice &amp; Movement Lawyering Clinic<\/a>, and she even enrolled in a practicum, the\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/experiential-learning\/clinics\/prison-education-practicum\/\" target=\"_blank\">Prison Education Practicum<\/a>. To put it simply, <meta charset=\"utf-8\">Wijedasa far exceeded the six-credit experiential requirement from the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. <meta charset=\"utf-8\">Wijedasa says,\u00a0\u201cI know\u00a0I definitely went far beyond what was required, but\u00a0that was why I came to law school\u2014not just to learn abstract theories, but to learn how to be a lawyer who\u2019s working towards creating a different sort of legal system. I wanted to dedicate myself and my time to experiences that would help me cultivate that. First-year law classes are largely theoretical, but in our clinical and experiential programs, we are engaging with people who are most directly impacted by the law. It makes the law more real and more concrete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The law became very real and concrete in her second year when she and her clinic partner, Fumi Noda, represented a woman seeking asylum. Wijedasa\u2019s work in the Immigrants\u2019 Rights and Human Trafficking Program included preparing the asylum application and representing the woman in immigration court. The opposing counsel was a Department of Homeland Security attorney, who cross-examined her client. The students\u2019 work paid off: The judge granted the asylum application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf I had been just reading about asylum law, I don\u2019t think I would have understood it in the same way as actually practicing law and working on an asylum application,\u201d Wijedasa says. \u201cI really loved that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-124930\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo.png 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-344x344.png 344w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-529x529.png 529w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-500x500.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-550x550.png 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/05\/MESALSA-Photo-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>Wijedasa (bottom left) and several members of the 2024-2025 Middle Eastern and South Asian Law Student Association (MESALSA) Executive Board.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/sarah-r-sherman-stokes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sarah Sherman-Stokes<\/a>, associate director of the Immigrants\u2019 Rights Program, describes Wijedasa as \u201cphenomenal. She has been a student and community leader, clinic superstar, and real organizer and builder at the law school. I&#8217;ve taught her in three classes now, and she has added depth and rich conversation in each one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wijedasa gained additional hands-on experience last summer interning with the ACLU\u2019s New York Chapter, where she worked on a case involving Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil. A few months ago, she added a major personal victory to her legal career: She assisted her mother with her citizenship paperwork, and they celebrated her naturalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wijedasa hasn\u2019t slowed down. On campus, she is an Equity Fellow in the BU Law Student Affairs Office, where she advises student affinity organizations and assists with diversity and inclusion programming. Last fall, she joined a panel with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, who discussed issues ranging from immigration and transgender rights to the role of an attorney general.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Off campus, as part of the Prison Education Practicum, Wijedasa travels weekly to Nashua Street Jail to teach people who are incarcerated about criminal procedure and legal writing. She also somehow squeezed in training runs for the Boston Marathon. The Boston-based Youth Advocacy Foundation, which represents young people who cannot afford counsel, sponsored her effort. Thanks to the support of friends, family, and many members of New Jersey\u2019s Sri Lankan community, she raised $15,000 for the nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">Wijedasa is eager to deploy the education she has received in classrooms and clinics, and she is grateful for her dedicated classmates. \u201cWhat gives me hope, and what has given me hope, is seeing people at BU Law who have been so committed to making this school a more inclusive space and who have changed this law school through activism,\u201d she says. \u201cIt gives me hope that my peers will continue that work in their legal careers. There are a lot of people who are going to be fighting for a more just legal system\u2014and a more just world overall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details record-block-editorial-event-details has-location-icon\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Event\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-title\">Event Details<\/h3><article class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-article\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-more-info\"><h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-event-title\" itemprop=\"name\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">Commencement 2026<\/h4><p class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-description\" itemprop=\"description\"><meta charset=\"utf-8\">The Class of 2026 celebrates its graduation.<br><br><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/about\/offices\/communications-marketing\/commencement\/\" target=\"_blank\">Event info<\/a><\/p><p class=\"button wp-block-editorial-event-details-calendar-link js-block-editorial-event-details-add-to-calendar\"><\/p><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-date-location\"><time class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-date\" itemprop=\"startDate\" content=\"2026-05-17T09:00:08-04:00\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-month\">May<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-day\">17<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-time\">9:00 AM<\/span><\/time><p class=\"wp-block-editorial-event-details-location\" itemprop=\"location\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Place\"><span itemprop=\"address\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/PostalAddress\">BU Track &amp; Tennis Center<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article><\/div>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories is-style-card has-three record-block-editorial-relatedstories\">\n\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-title\">Related<\/h3>\n\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4.png 1280w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-636x477.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-1101x826.png 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-909x682.png 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-459x344.png 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-705x529.png 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/image-4-917x688.png 917w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Clerkship<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2026\/hooked-on-the-law\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Hooked on the Law<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">April 28, 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1122\" height=\"1402\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot.png 1122w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-509x636.png 509w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-661x826.png 661w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-546x682.png 546w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-826x1032.png 826w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-1057x1321.png 1057w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-275x344.png 275w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-423x529.png 423w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-551x688.png 551w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-847x1058.png 847w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-1092x1364.png 1092w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2026\/04\/Amar_Headshot-800x1000.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1122px) 100vw, 1122px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Tax Law<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2026\/a-transnational-education-in-tax-law\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">A Transnational Education in Tax Law<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">April 24, 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1365\" height=\"2048\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-424x636.jpg 424w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-551x826.jpg 551w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-455x682.jpg 455w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-688x1032.jpg 688w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-880x1321.jpg 880w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-229x344.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-353x529.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-459x688.jpg 459w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-705x1058.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-909x1364.jpg 909w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-1101x1652.jpg 1101w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2025\/05\/Gemma-del-Carmen-25-Photo-667x1000.jpg 667w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-category\"><span>Student Life<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2025\/gemma-del-carmen\/\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-title-link\">Involved and Uplifted<\/a><\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-relatedstories-article-date\">May 14, 2025<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wijedasa also had a deeply personal reason for studying law. Her mother, a native of Sri Lanka, lost her legal status after she and Wijedasa\u2019s father divorced. She could no longer work legally, and she spent years living in fear of deportation. That experience made a deep impression on Wijedasa, who was 11 at the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24244,"featured_media":124910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Student Advocacy","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[2337,1381,1860],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3770,3749,3765,3767,3768,4135,3786,3758],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/124899"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124899"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/124899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125115,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/124899\/revisions\/125115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124899"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=124899"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=124899"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=124899"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=124899"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=124899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}