Gita Howard, a HOPE Fellow who recently graduated from Miami Law, was awarded a prestigious Human Rights Program Fellowship with a placement at Human Rights First. Human Rights First is a non-profit international human rights organization based in New York, Washington D.C., Houston, and Los Angeles.
"I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity to work as a fellow with Human Rights First's Foreign Policy Team,” said Howard. “I am thrilled to be part of this incredible organization's cutting-edge work to ensure accountability for human rights abuses and acts of corruption."
Howard has been dedicated to international human rights since her time at Scripps College in Claremont, California. After graduating from college, Howard was an intern reporter in Hawaii, where she wrote local news stories, including features addressing human rights issues. She then decided to attend Miami Law to further her involvement with international human rights law.
During both her 1L and 2L summers, Howard was awarded a HOPE Fellowship to pursue her public interest dreams. During her first summer, she was a legal intern at The Tibetan Legal Association in Dharamshala, India. She worked on various international legal issues and wrote an extensive report on religious freedom, which included a comparative constitutional analysis. During her second summer, she continued exploring her passion for international law and human rights as a legal intern for the United Nations, Office of Legal Affairs, in the General Legal Division, where she performed extensive legal research and writing, and was involved in a wide range of sensitive UN-related legal and policy matters.
At Miami Law, Howard served as an intern with the Human Rights Clinic during her 2L year and served as a Human Rights Clinic Fellow during her third year. Additionally, she co-founded the Human Rights Society at Miami Law and served as president of the organization.
Prior to graduation, Howard was awarded the HOPE Award for Exemplary Service, based on her establishment of the Human Rights Society and two years of excellent work with the Human Rights Clinic as a student and fellow.
“Gita is distinguished by the excellence of her work, but also by her kindness and generosity,” said Professor Tamar Ezer, the Human Rights Clinic’s acting director. “She is always lifting up the people with whom she works. We need more leaders like her.”
Howard is one of three recent graduates who have received prestigious fellowships this year, including Rebecca Ramirez, who received a Public Interest Environmental Law Fellowship, and Gabriela Valentín Díaz, who was selected to receive a prestigious Bertha Justice Fellowship. All three worked in the Human Rights Clinic.
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