Meet GCLC’s Amate Fellows

Learn more about GCLC’s partnership with Amate House, which dates back to 1988, and our current/past Fellows’ experiences.

Pictured from left to right: Alex Lloyd, Joel Stopka, Sara Schlecht, and Stasia Reisinger

Over the past 33 years, Greater Chicago Legal Clinic has partnered with Amate House, a service and leadership development program for young adults in the Chicagoland area. Amate Fellows are young adults who are passionate about social justice and who commit to a year of service working with marginalized communities. They are placed with partner organizations—such as GCLC—where they work in a variety of professional capacities.

This year, the Clinic is home to two current Fellows and one past Fellow. Stasia Reisinger is a recent graduate from University of Notre Dame and current attorney assistant in the Immigration Law Program. Sara Schlecht is a recent graduate from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana and serves as the Clinic’s Domestic Relations Program assistant. Alex Lloyd was a 2019–2020 Amate Fellow and continued working as a paralegal for the Immigration Law team this year.

 “Amate House is great at connecting our interests in service and social justice with professional development,” Schlecht said. “By placing Fellows at service sites where we're genuinely interested in the mission and work, Amate House helps us see the practical ways service can be a profession and way of life.”

 Lloyd and Reisinger were both drawn to GCLC’s Immigration Law Program because they wanted to learn more about the legal field from a social justice perspective.

 “The Clinic is a really good opportunity to work directly with clients while also gaining experience behind the scenes of legal advocacy,” said Reisinger.

 Lloyd agreed and added that she was particularly interested in immigration law. After interning at a refugee assistance organization and studying public policy in school, Lloyd became more aware of the issues facing our justice system—especially with immigration. “I saw how inequities are baked into the law, and how those problems are exacerbated by a person’s immigration status. Immigration law is complex and it’s easy to get lost if you don’t have access to the right resources and information. Attorneys can bridge such gaps by helping immigrants navigate the legal system, protecting them from exploitation and keeping families together,” said Lloyd. After her first meeting with GCLC immigration attorneys and seeing their passion for the field, she knew she had found the perfect fit.

 Both women plan on attending law school in the fall of 2022.

 An Amate House partner organization must be a nonprofit in the Chicagoland area that serves marginalized, under-resourced, or under-represented populations. Fellows accept a one-year, full-time position. Along with the professional component, Amate Fellows live in a community house—a dedicated space in which to practice the Amate House’s five principles: service, community, stewardship, faith, and social justice.

 All three of GCLC’s Fellows live(d) in the Amate House’s McKinley Park residence.

 “I really appreciate how Amate House is passionate about being rooted in the city,” Reisinger reflected on her home for the next year. “After college I wanted to do more than just move to a new city and live in a homogenous ‘bubble’ of people similar to me. I wanted to expand my experiences, become integrated in a Chicago neighborhood, and truly live in the community.”

 Similar to GCLC, the Amate program was established on principals of community and serving the people of Chicagoland.

 The Amate community also enables participants to collaborate with and learn from each other. Fellows have opportunities to reflect on their experiences and share with others in organic and structured settings. Between Wednesday “Community Nights” and three retreats throughout the year, Fellows engage in critical discourse about the issues they face and what they’ve learned at their jobs.

 “I learned so much through my job at the Clinic, and it was further enhanced by conversations with my housemates. The opportunity to talk with Fellows about their organizations gave me a better understanding of how different areas of social justice intersect and introduced me to the work being done across Chicago to confront those issues,” said Lloyd

 Immigration Law Program managing attorney, Joel Stopka, is the Clinic’s Amate Fellow mentor. He reflected on the partnership from GCLC’s perspective. “The great part about it is that they are with us for a year, so they are able to get truly established within the organization. They are reliable, intelligent, and hardworking, so it’s fruitful the entire time they’re here.”

 We are grateful for our longstanding partnership with the Amate House. We appreciate the opportunity to work with emerging Chicago leaders and an organization that shares our values of service and community.