America Casanova
English, American Studies, Government and History
Chicago, Ill.
What was your favorite class and why?
My favorite class was GOVT 3121: Crime and Punishment, which I took my sophomore fall. I credit it for igniting my passion for criminal defense. After this course, I applied to my very first internship focused on criminal investigations at Georgetown Law, an opportunity that would have never happened without it. Coming from Chicago, a city with heavy policing in minority communities, including my own, learning about its historical origins and its implications didn't just broaden my mindset, it made the issues I grew up witnessing feel urgent in a new way. I came into Cornell very set on immigration law, and now, because of this course, I hope to one day be a public servant tackling issues within the crimmigration sector, the intersection of criminal and immigration law.
What is your main extracurricular activity and why is it important to you?
I have been involved in Cornell University's Parole Initiative since my sophomore spring, and it has become one of the most defining parts of my time at Cornell. Through CUPI, I work directly with incarcerated individuals preparing for parole board hearings, helping them build their cases for release. During my time with the initiative, I aided in the release of one client, and that experience changed everything for me. Aiding in someone's freedom, in someone's second chance, in seeing them reunite with their families is a feeling unlike any other. CUPI allowed me to make a real, tangible impact and gave me responsibilities I would not have gotten through other organizations. Being alongside like-minded individuals who are passionate, empathetic and truly love this work has only strengthened my commitment to parole advocacy. That commitment pushed me to pursue an internship at the Center for Appellate Litigation in New York City, where I continued this work as a Parole Advocacy Intern and have now aided in the release of four individuals total. CUPI gave me a sense of purpose, and I want to spend my career honoring that.
What Cornell memory do you treasure the most?
There are infinite Cornell memories that stay close to my heart, but one of my very first truly shaped how I thought about this journey and continues to do so. When my parents dropped me off for orientation in 2022, one of the first things we did was walk the campus. I remember crossing the green bridge from North Campus for the first time, seeing the Clock Tower from afar, and feeling a wave of fear at the enormity of everything in front of me. I had never seen Cornell before that moment. When we got to the slope, my father turned to me and in Spanish said, "In another life, I would have studied here." Neither of my parents completed education past middle school, forced to work from a young age in Mexico to help their parents. That single sentence redefined how I understood this opportunity, gave me the strength to face the uncertainty ahead, and has stayed with me every day since. It reminded me that being here is a privilege, not just for me, but for my parents, my ancestors and everyone who came before me. Coming to Cornell was never only my dream. There are no words to fully capture the impact this place has had on my life, but if I had to choose one moment, it would be that one, on the slope, with my father, at the very beginning.
What have you accomplished as a Cornell student that you are most proud of?
As a Dreamer, there are countless doors that are closed to me. I cannot receive federal financial aid, I am ineligible for most fellowships, and the career paths available to me are narrow in ways most of my peers will never have to think about. What I am most proud of is that I found ways through those doors anyway.
With the support of the College of Arts & Sciences and the Summer Experience Grant, I have interned at Georgetown Law, Harvard Law,and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, one of the largest prosecutorial offices in the country. I have worked in law firms, pursued research opportunities and continued to grow with every experience. These opportunities also allowed me to live in Boston, Washington D.C. and New York City, cities I had only ever seen on television growing up in Chicago.
For someone whose world was once very small, not by choice but by external circumstances, that expansion meant everything to me. However, none of this happened on my own. I had advisors who sat with me and brainstormed when every path seemed blocked, who never once discouraged me, and who treated my goals as worthy even when the system said otherwise.
Cornell taught me to never take no for an answer, and having people who believed that alongside me made all the difference. Each experience deepened my understanding of the legal system and confirmed that this is the work I want to dedicate my life to. I did not have the luxury of assuming these opportunities would come to me, so I fought for every single one. Cornell gave me the tools to build my own future and refused to let my status define the path many expect someone like me to have!
Every year, our faculty nominate graduating Arts & Sciences students to be featured as part of our Extraordinary Journeys series. Read more about the Class of 2026.
More News from A&S
Faculty excellence in teaching and advising honored with 2026 awards
Teaching awards
