Eva Gabriel

Eva is already a decorated scholar, having earned an Outstanding Community Leader Award and an Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award. For the latter, students presented ideas on making UC San Diego a better campus. Her discussion research paper, The Implementation of a Transfer Resource Center, addressed opportunities to assist those students hampered by disadvantages such as finances and family issues to make a successful transition from community college to UC San Diego. 

This desire to help others was further underscored by her participation in the UCDC program in which she interned for the Office of the Attorney General in Washington, DC and experienced the effects of the 2019 government shutdown in a fast-paced environment. She is active in student activist organizations, one of which is working through the process of getting the UC system on board with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. Next stop: the California Assembly.

Eva developed a deep interest in public service through her family’s experiences as Iraqi immigrants. “We have benefited from public services offered by government assistance programs, and through organizations like the Catholic Charities USA. The benefits of living in America have influenced my commitment to help others who are struggling.” 

Eva is also driven by political justice, sparked by a long and complex legal battle her family has endured after her father was gravely injured when struck over the head with a bottle during a robbery at work. Eva was 16 when this experience set her on a path to a legal career. “I wanted to fix the system. It was very difficult for us to find a good attorney that we could afford. I think it is unfair that when a horrible situation happens to you and you try to achieve justice, you also have to deal with financial hardships while trying to amend your life in the legal system. As we went door to door trying to find a good worker’s compensation attorney, I realized that I want to help other people who have been affected by workplace accidents and crimes.”