Eyes on the horizon: For Kiana Paredes ’27, one of the biggest draws to Saint Mary's was its “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve” ethos. In pursuing law, she's hoping to give back to the communities that shaped her. / Photo by Francis Tatem
Kiana Paredes ’27 on Her “Life-Changing” Summer in the Courtroom—and How SMC’s Liberal Arts Bridge Program Made It Possible
A first-generation college student, Politics major, and lifelong San Franciscan, Paredes interned in her city’s Superior Courthouse in July. LAB provided financial support and, she says, “opened up a whole new world for me.”
Interning at the San Francisco Superior Courthouse this summer was, for Politics major Kiana Paredes ’27, a bit like coming home. Paredes grew up in the Tenderloin, just a few blocks from the courthouse and the city’s Civic Center. It’s a neighborhood with a rough reputation, she acknowledges. As a kid, though, she always loved it for its centrality.
“On the weekends, we’d walk to the Ferry Building, or Japantown, or go see the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf,” she says. “It was just, you know, the city. There’s nothing boring about it.”
Growing up in the Tenderloin and later Bayview–Hunters Point communities made her “a pretty tough cookie,” she says. “It taught me to work really hard for what you have.” Her parents, both immigrants, modeled that drive; they worked long hours and multiple jobs to afford her tuition at a private Lasallian academy in San Francisco. Take advantage of these opportunities, she recalls her parents telling her. But also remember where you came from. Give back.
By pursuing a career in law, she’s hoping to do just that. This July, Paredes interned with Susan M. Breall, a Superior Court judge who presides over juvenile dependency court. Paredes assisted Breall with cases of children dealing with abuse, neglect, and inadequate care. It was a challenging, often eye-opening experience for Paredes. At the same time, she says, “It was clarifying to know: This is definitely something I want to do.”
She credits Saint Mary’s Liberal Arts Bridge (LAB) Program with making the experience possible. Since 2019, the LAB Internship Scholarship has offered financial assistance for Liberal Arts students pursuing passions and seeking hands-on experience. Internships can be crucial stepping stones toward a career; internships are also, frequently, underpaid or unpaid. To ensure that’s not a barrier, LAB can offer interning students a living wage and often on-campus housing.
Paredes, who already works part-time to help pay for college, knew her internship would be unpaid. She wasn’t sure whether she would have to cut back on her work hours or, at last resort, forgo the internship entirely. Fortunately, with LAB, she didn’t have to make that call.
First-Gen Tenacity
Paredes has the sunny self-possession of a lifelong city kid. When we meet up at the Superior Courthouse in early August, she rattles off three of her favorite Vietnamese restaurants within walking distance—not by name, mind you, but by cross streets. “There’s a great spot over on Larkin and Turk, kind of a hole-in-the-wall place,” she tells me, pointing northeast. “Of course,” she adds, “most Vietnamese food I eat comes from home.”
Her mother, born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), was a child when her family immigrated to the US in 1990, fleeing the Communist regime. Her father is from El Salvador; his parents relocated amidst the turmoil of the country’s 12-year civil war. In the decades since, they have carved out a life in San Francisco. “I’m definitely in awe of my parents and all they’ve overcome,” Paredes says.
Not that she hasn’t had her own challenges as a first-generation American. The primary English speaker in the household, she traversed the college application process largely on her own. Still, Paredes had a strong sense of what she wanted out of college.
“I’ve always gone to pretty small schools, and I feel they provided me with the best connections and opportunities,” she says. When she learned of Saint Mary’s College, she was immediately drawn to its intimate class sizes and vibrant community. Coming from a Lasallian high school, she found the College’s "Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve" ethos resonated with her. “I wanted to continue on that path because, yes, you learn, but you also give back from what you learn.”
She moved onto Saint Mary’s campus in August 2023. Her first year at SMC lived up to expectations, she says. “Other students are so welcoming, and professors are always here to assist you when you need one-on-one help.”
Perhaps the most significant example of Saint Mary’s support has been the LAB Program, she says. “It really did open up a whole new world for me.”
On the LAB Program, Kiana Paredes says, "It really made a life-changing impact for me...I encourage Saint Mary’s students to take this opportunity and not let it go by you.”
Risk and Reward
Paredes’ four weeks in dependency court were an immersive education. The courtrooms, she learned, are purposefully smaller and less intimidating than criminal courts, created with children in mind. When it came time for Judge Brealle to hear a case, that tiny room would fill up—with family members, attorneys, social workers, and the children at the center of it all.
Some of the children were infants; others were nearly Paredes’ age. She was struck by just how many people were involved in determining the fate of these kids. “It was a new window into my own community, the San Francisco community,” she says. “These kids could be your neighbors, really, and you don’t even know it. “
Paredes’ primary assignment was to research cases similar to those Brealle was overseeing and offer input—“a big responsibility,” she says. Other times, she got to connect with judges and attorneys from different divisions—those handling cases in criminal court and others tackling corporate litigation in civil court. “I got a sense of just how many different fields of law I could pursue,” she says.
In years to come, she’ll have ample time to determine her own area of expertise. For now, she sees this as confirmation of her path. “It really made a life-changing impact for me,” she says.
On the first day of the internship, sitting in the judge’s office, Paredes asked Brealle, “If you were to give yourself advice when you were my age, what would it be?”
After a moment, Brealle answered: “Take every opportunity that comes your way, and don't let it go past you.”
Those words have stuck with Paredes. She underscores the support the LAB program has provided her and echoes Judge Brealle. “I encourage Saint Marty’s students to take this opportunity and not let it go by you.”
As a lifelong San Franciscan, she’s no stranger to leaving her comfort zone. But even tough cookies like her can find themselves asking, Is that too weird? Is that too much? Am I going to fail?
The answer, Paredes acknowledges, might be yes. “But you never know if you don’t try. So try, and learn from the experience.”
Hayden Royster is Staff Writer at the Office of Marketing and Communication for Saint Mary's College. Write him.
