MCCA Scholar
University of San Francisco School of Law
Hailing from Barrio Logan in San Diego, Jonathan Verdugo is a first-generation Xicano and the second of eight children born to a Mexican mother from Sonora. From a young age, Jonathan had formative experiences with the criminal justice system. By fifteen, he was a high school dropout involved in street gangs and drug addiction. His best friend was brutally shot to death and his younger brother is currently serving a twenty-six year sentence. Jonathan spent his youth in and out of juvenile detention facilities. He never had a person of color assigned to his case, which highlighted the discrepancy between the majority Black and Latino inmates versus the majority white attorneys who defended them. These experiences influenced his views and steered him toward pursuing a legal education. He earned his BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley and served as executive director of the Latinx Pre Law Society. Jonathan is a 1L at the University of San Francisco School of Law and ultimately plans to practice corporate law with a commitment to pro bono work where he will give a voice to the voiceless and zealously advocate on behalf of communities that have been forgotten and relegated to the margins of society.