For Our People

Cristina Salazar

Centennial, CO

 

Cristina says even as a Division I athlete and member of the soccer team that won the University of Wyoming’s first soccer conference championship in 2018, her goal was always to attend law school. "From the time I was a child, my grandpa instilled in me the phrase ‘para nuestra gente,’ ‘for our people.’”

 

“I come from a family where none of my grandparents graduated high school and neither of my parents went to college,” she says. “As a first-generation Mexican-American woman, I understand the weight of ‘for our people.’ It means to strive for all the people who have never had a seat at the table.”

 

In her first year, Cristina served as the representative to the American Inns of Court, an association of lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals dedicated to serving the law and seeking justice. She also worked as a research assistant at the George W. Hopper Law Library at the College of Law and as an extern for Judge Tori Kricken of the Albany County District Court. She served as an article editor for the 2022-2023 Wyoming Law Review and held leadership roles with Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and OutLaw, the student organization for LGBTQ awareness and advocacy.

 

The greatest test of her commitment came in her 1L year: “The day before my first law school final ever, my favorite person in the world, my beloved grandpa passed away from COVID. I woke up the next morning with my grandpa’s phrase ringing in my ears and I began my first final. That phrase played on repeat throughout the week as I finished my finals while writing his eulogy.”

 

“I am honored to have been selected as a Brimmer Scholar. I could not have accomplished this without the love and support of my family and friends.”

 

During law School, Cristina worked as a summer associate at the Denver office of global law firm Holland & Knight, LLP.