MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA) of Chicago-Kent College of Law is to increase social and professional opportunities for Asian and Asian-American law students. APALSA seeks to promote Asian and Asian-American interests both within Chicago-Kent and the greater legal community. Chicago-Kent students of all backgrounds are welcome to participate in our activities.

OFFICER PROFILES

DAVE SHIN (2L)
President
dshin@kentlaw.edu



David is excited to serve the best organization on campus! He is recently married and is a Wii Tennis Champion. He can quote all the lines to Braveheart and the LOTR extended trilogy. David aspires to open up a criminal defense practice after working in the public sector. He is currently working as a paid clerk in the law firm of Goldstein, Bender, & Romanoff. He also tries to find time to volunteer at the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Clinic (CGLA), and the Korean American Woman in Need, (KAN-WIN). His favorite cologne is Curve and the old-school Polo Sport.

LOIS J. KIM (2L)
Vice President / Campus Outreach Coordinator
jkim1@kentlaw.edu

Lois Kim is a force of nature. She can study for 19 hours, go for a 3 mile run, prepare for class, and win this season’s Project Runway. Already in her new leadership role, Lois took the initiative to begin an inter-campus gathering among all Chicago-land APALSA organizations. Lois is excellent at communicating with others and getting people to feel at home. She studied English and East Asian Languages & Cultures as an undergraduate at UIUC. Lois plans to pursue her L.L.M so that she can establish a career in international mediation and arbitration.

BRANDON HAMADA (2L)
Vice President of Finance & Fundraising
bhamada@kentlaw.edu

Brandon is a baseball addict who has no sympathies for the Boston Red Sox. Do not get him started. Brandon is an expert at finding the best food deals in Chicago. Although coming from his beloved town of San Di-AGO, Brandon still has a good handle on all the great and unique events in the Windy City. He is pursuing a career in the fast emerging field of IP law and is currently employed at LAW FIRM & LAW FIRM. He is a Coolwater cologne kind of man.

XIU XIU ZHANG (2L)
Treasurer
xzhang6@kentlaw.edu

Xiu Xiu hails from China, but her drive brought her to Chicago-Kent. Her dedication to studying the law has not only been a great example for her peers, but Xiu Xiu has also been noticed by the professional community. Besides working at the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Chicago-Kent this past summer, Xiu Xiu also worked (and still works) at the Law Firm of Wang, Leanard, & Condon. She is a tremendous asset to APALSA.

HEEJUNG LEE (2L)
Secretary
hlee@kentlaw.edu



Heeung is the current secretary of APALSA. Heejung has not disappointed in diligently ensuring that all of Kent-APALSA’s administrative functions are met. Heejung spent this past summer at the Fordham Law Korea Summer Abroad Program studying in areas such as public international law, international commercial arbitration, and business transactions. She is currently seeking to compete in the upcoming Thomas Tang Moot Court competition held in Kansas City, MO and Boston, MA. Heejung is pursuing a career in International Law.

LINA GUO (3L)
Senior Advisor
yguo@kentlaw.edu



Lina is originally from Maryland, but is an alum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has an interest in business law, is a major foodie, dreams of having her very own husky someday, and loves traveling to foreign countries. Lina was APALSA’s first board president and did an amazing job at ensuring our organization’s continuity. She is and always will be, our Godfather.

 

ALEX RABANAL (3L)
Web Manager
arabanal@kentlaw.edu



Alex is University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alum. Alex is interested in litigation, American legal history, and actually doesn't mind writing briefs. Although he's in law school, Alex secretly (and now not so secretly) wants to go to culinary school. Alex is a die hard Cubs fan (and baseball fan) and spends his time "waiting until next year."

EUN-KYUNG KIM (1L)
1L Representative
ekim3@kentlaw.edu

Eun-kyung Kim is a first year law student at Chicago-Kent. She graduated from Washington University in St. Louis where she majored in Economics and Environmental Studies with Chinese and Photography minors. She was born and raised in Korea and loves everything Asian. She is very excited to join the APALSA board this year!

JAMES VERGARA (1L)
1L Representative
jvergara@kentlaw.edu

James Vergara is a law student and a runner, though sometimes not necessarily in that order. He is a Purdue University graduate with a B.S. degree in Computer Science and minors in Japanese and Management, so essentially he is a jack-of-no-trades. He is currently interested in Intellectual Property Law. In his free time he cooks, plays the ukulele, and writes short stories. With law school now thrown into the mix he currently does none of those. He’s loving it, though.