Stephanie Perez

Hometown: Newark, New Jersey

School: Gill St. Bernard’s School

Stephanie Perez, a first-generation Ecuadorian student, is a rising senior at Gill Saint Bernard’s School in New Jersey. Her dedication to higher education first brought her to NJ SEEDS Young Scholars Program, which helped allow her to attend Gill Saint Bernard’s on a scholarship. President of both the Baking Club and the Photography Club, a club she founded on campus, has allowed her to mentor and teach more than 50 students. After shadowing judges and attorneys, Stephanie applied to CHCI NextGen to further explore and understand systemic change in relation to public policy. Founder of Know Your Law Project, a nationwide youth-led organization aimed at informing people about laws, historical events, and getting more youth involved in the legal field, Stephanie’s ultimate goal is to pursue a career in law centered on advocacy and community empowerment.