The St. Paul streets were filled with students and families. Anna Counihan, a high school student at the time, was standing in the crowd as the chanting erupted and the marching began. The crowd shouted slogans, including “D.A.C.A. We will fight for you to stay.” Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy that affects around 800,000 young people who arrived in the U.S. unlawfully as children. The politicians in Washington D.C. proposed rescinding the DACA program.
Counihan’s family had always been involved in the social justice movement. Protesting was something they did together, but this time, in 2016, she went to the protest alone. “This is something that affects the United States and specifically my community in St. Paul,” says Counihan. South St. Paul is made up of over 15% Hispanic residents. Seeing how DACA impacted her friends and neighborhood made it “super real.” While DACA doesn't grant people official legal status, it does allow them to apply for a driver’s license, social security number, and work permit.
At that moment she felt connected to her community. “I felt so welcomed,” says Counihan. “Seeing a big crowd of people who are passionate about the same thing was empowering and liberating.”
The Future After Graduation
Counihan is now the president of the UMD Student Association (SA) and is currently a senior, triple majoring in Spanish, political science, and environmental sustainability and geography. Counihan strives for law school next year. Her dream is to become an immigration attorney.
That dream began when she was 16 years old. She had the opportunity to shadow Gloria Contreras Edin, an immigration attorney at Contreras & Metelska, who is now her current boss. Beginning in the summer after her freshman year of college, Counihan got a job working on DACA applications through Contreras & Metelska.
“Yes! This is it,” says Counihan. She has learned how the immigration process worked legally and the job gave her confirmation that the road toward becoming an immigration attorney was one she wanted to take.
Another step in the UMD path
Anna Counihan feels connected at the University of Minnesota Duluth as well. Being president of SA, Counihan has monthly meetings with the chancellor, oversees internal committees, and plans retreats.
It all started for Counihan during welcome week when she heard Mike Kenyanya, the SA president at the time, talk about the student association. He piqued her interest, leading her to win the role as freshman representative.
In 2020-2021, Counihan was vice president of SA and watched as COVID-19 took its toll on the club. They moved to a fully virtual congress which was extremely different from the in-person gathering they had before the pandemic. The stress of virtual connections actually motivated Counihan. SA hosting many online game events with their meetings. Now the Student Association is an in-person congress and they’re hosting more events in person. Counihan’s desire to liven up campus has brought more excitement and involvement.
Changes to Campus
Perhaps it’s her contact with lawyers and the underrepresented that is driving Counihan. It’s part of her two other ambitious goals.
Counihan is currently working on a proposal to the Student Services Fee (SSF) to create a UMD student legal service. Many universities, including the Twin Cities campus, have the service which offers legal advice and representation, providing attorneys, support staff, and law clerks.
She also wants to work with SA to engage more students by hosting a town hall. She wants to find out what students, all students, really want by inviting them to fill out surveys and polls. That desire to hear from her fellow students goes back to the gathering she attended when she was 16. Finding out what people want as a group is “empowering and liberating.”
About the UMD political science program, the UMD Spanish studies and the UMD environmental sustainability and geography program.
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This story was written by UMD student Eva Moua, who is majoring in communication. Eva works with Cheryl Reitan in University Marketing and Public Relations.