澳门二分彩

Sarah Baranik de Alarc贸n 鈥�19 was recently selected by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for a Fulbright U.S. Student Program award. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government鈥檚 flagship international educational exchange program, offering students grants to conduct research, study and teach abroad.

Beginning in February 2020, Baranik will use her Fulbright to research Brazil鈥檚 Migration Law, specifically the country鈥檚 2016 immigration law and how it affects children, particularly their right to family life and free movement. Her research will culminate in an analysis of the law, its protection of children and families, and Brazilian sentiment around it.

鈥淐ompleting a Fulbright in Brazil will combine my background in immigration law, international children鈥檚 rights, and international law,鈥� said Baranik. 鈥淯sing my experience working with immigrants in the U.S. and policy at UNICEF, I will investigate whether the decriminalization of the act of migration can remain when challenged by the influx of thousands of immigrants. My hope is that my research will assist advocates seeking to reform migration laws, particularly those statutes related to family unity and detention.鈥�

During her time at Villanova Law, Baranik was President of the International Law Society and a consultant with UNICEF鈥檚 Migration Policy Unit. She spent much of her law school career dedicated to advocating for asylum seekers through work with the Clinic for Asylum, Refugee & Emigrant Services (CARES) and the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic, including providing legal assistance to asylum-seekers at the U.S./Mexico border.

鈥淢y involvement as a student attorney at the CARES clinic and an interpreter for the Farmworker Legal Aid Clinic allowed me to have experience working with clients from all over the world and further fueled my interest in migration policies,鈥� said Baranik. 鈥淚 am incredibly thankful to the University and to the Law School for the support I received when pursuing a Fulbright.鈥�

After her Fulbright year, Baranik hopes to work in immigration law.

A total of 32 澳门二分彩 students and alumni were awarded Fulbrights for 2019-2020, marking the largest single-year number of Fulbright awards in the University鈥檚 history, surpassing the previous record of 16 winners set in 2018-19. Villanova has been listed among the nation鈥檚 top producers of Fulbright Students for more than a decade and the University has had at least one student selected for the coveted award each year since 1994.