Third-year student helps bridge the language barrier in local legal system

"While many students were working various summer jobs and internships, third-year College student Amalia Garcia-Pretelt was in the Albemarle County Courthouse, supporting Spanish-speaking victims and witnesses through complicated legal and emotional times in a country where they may not know the language and even may be scared to ask for help.

A dual-citizen of both Colombia and the United States, Garcia-Pretelt is passionate about working with Spanish speakers in the criminal justice system, and as a Political Philosophy, Policy and Law major, she plans to go to law school in the future to realize that dream. Although she worked on the victim and witness side this summer, Garcia-Pretelt said her true interests lie in working with defendants..."

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