By Maria Iacobo
Working this summer at the Learning Rights Law Center (LRLC), whose mission is to ensure students have equitable access to the public education system, Derek Lipkin ’12 was amazed to see the single-minded dedication its staff had for their clients.
“Everyone was committed to the same goal and had a clear vision as to how to help these students,” says Lipkin. “I could see that they genuinely cared about getting services to students so they could experience the best education possible.”
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| Derek Lipkin '12 |
Based in Los Angeles, the LRLC serves low-income clients and supports students’ rights on issues such as special education program needs, students in the juvenile system and students with severe medical needs.
Lipkin helped implement a unique approach to using special education laws to assist gay and transgender students. The project Lipkin worked on — the Rainbow Rights Project — helps LGBT students deal with the types of interferences, such as bullying and harassment, which can drive them out of school or impair their school work.
Lipkin’s work earned him a Summer Corps Standout Award – one of only 10 awarded nationwide. Equal Justice Works, a national public interest organization, awards students who have created an innovative approach to meeting the needs of their underserved clients.
As a summer law clerk at the LRLC, Lipkin also researched client cases and wrote due process petitions for clients. He was so impressed with the organization that he will continue as a legal volunteer during the current academic year.
A Los Altos native, Lipkin is a UCLA graduate.
Read Lipkin’s blog entry on his summer internship at the Equal Justice Works site:
http://equaljusticeworks.wordpress.com/2010/08/20/summer-corps-standout-derek-lipkin/
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