Students participate in hands-on activity to learn importance of collaboration between legal and law enforcement agencies
Texas Border Business
PHARR – The Texas A&M University Law School Dean Robert B. Ahdieh spoke to students in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA ISD) Pre-Law and Law Enforcement Institutes regarding the law school admission process on Friday, Jan. 31.
“At this stage, the opportunity to impact high school students for their future is important,” said Dean Abdieh. “It was an honor to spend the morning speaking to them.”
Thanks to the success of the PSJA Pre-Law Institute started in November 2018, seven additional career pathways are now available as enrichment programs for students in 10th-12th grade attending PSJA ISD schools.
The additional seven new institutes are in: Mental Health & Human Services; Engineering; Sports Medicine; IT; Education; Entrepreneurship; and Law Enforcement.
“This is cutting-edge,” said Hidalgo County Court-at-Law Judge Arnoldo Cantu, Jr. who made the event possible. “This is exposing young people to different careers. It’s a beautiful thing to see leaders looking ahead.”
For Elijah Hernandez, sophomore at PSJA North ECHS, hearing from experts and Dean Ahdieh was a great learning experience.
“I loved hearing from the Dean about the law school admission process. The PSJA Institutes are giving us experiences we are not getting anywhere else,” said Hernandez who is pursuing an Associate Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and is part of the PSJA Pre-Law Institute. “Hearing from judges and attorneys is amazing. Thank you to PSJA for providing us these opportunities to figure out what we want to do early in life.”
In addition to hearing from Dean Ahdieh, students got to participate in a hands-on field sobriety activity led by the PSJA Police Department demonstrating the importance of collaboration between the legal and law enforcement fields.
“Interacting with students and getting them excited about what law enforcement is all about is something we love to see,” said PSJA Police Chief Rolando Garcia. “We wanted them to learn the importance of both fields, law enforcement and law, working together.”
According to PSJA School Board Member & Pre-Law Advisor Jesse Zambrano, PSJA ISD takes pride in bringing career-advancing opportunities like these for students across the district.
“Whether our students want to go to law school or pursue any other career, we believe these opportunities open up their mind to what’s out there in the field,” said Zambrano.
In addition to the PSJA Institutes, PSJA ISD provides an array of opportunities for students to get hands-on learning and experience in the field of their choice. The PSJA Institutes compliment the district’s Early College Program, which graduates students with up to 60 college hours or an Associate Degree from South Texas College prior to their high school graduation.
“Here at PSJA ISD we take pride in leading the way to provide life-changing opportunities for all of our students,” said PSJA Superintendent Dr. Jorge L. Arredondo. “Thank you to Dean Ahdieh and all the experts who made this event possible.”
 Pre-Law and Law Enforcement Institutes regarding the law school admission process on Friday, Jan. 31.){kind=link}