Hannah Middleton, ’26, and Aurora Garcia, ’26, were named 2024 Peggy Browning Fellows, a distinction that recognizes students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights.
Middleton spent her summer in Washington, D.C. with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), while Garcia, a returning fellow, clerked at Legal Aid at Work, an organization supporting workplace rights in California.
Seeing her parents struggle with unfair treatment at work led Garcia to an interest in law at a young age. Her motivation to pursue workers’ rights was reinforced when her uncle, working in the U.S. temporarily under an H-2 visa, passed away at
work.
“We spent a lot of time trying to get answers from the company he worked for,” she said. “But I thought, ‘I’m not a lawyer, I don’t know what to do.’”
Her family found help from an attorney fighting for
the rights of migrant workers. Seeing that effort firsthand solidified Garcia’s goal to provide assistance to workers.
“A lot of her work and what she was advocating for really sounded like what I’ve always wanted to do,” she said.
During her fellowship, Garcia participated in a weekly workers’ rights clinic with other law clerks. Through the
clinic, she saw the importance of taking the time to simply listen to clients. She could hear the relief in their voices as they told her about how they had been treated at work or other issues they were facing.
“They would say, ‘Now I feel like I have an option or like there’s some kind of solution,’ and sometimes, a lot of the time, they just really appreciate that someone took the time to really listen to them,” she said.
At AFSCME, Middleton gained firsthand experience with many aspects of labor law, including the process of unionization, the National Labor Relations Act and the Freedom of Information Act. She originally found a passion for labor law while working for the Nebraska State Employees Union before law school.
“Work affects people’s lives day in and day out,” she said. “I found that I love telling people their rights at work and making sure that they are heard.”