Black History Month: Raquiyah Dunger

In celebration of Black History Month, we will be sharing a series of blog posts highlighting our clients and staff from the African diaspora. We are honored to share the stories of these amazing individuals, whom we celebrate not just this month, but throughout the year.

Meet Raquiyah Dunger, a third-year law student who will be graduating from John Marshall Law School in May 2022. Originally from Anderson, South Carolina, Raquiyah was born into a huge, loving, close-knit, and loud family. Her passion to go to law school stems from her drive to break generational barriers. Before her, no one in her family had ever attained higher education. Moreover, her passion for the law arose not only from her ordained path, but also seeing her family’s interactions with the legal system.

Raquiyah attended Spelman College, where she majored in Political Science. She always wanted to help people. Her ability to empathize with others comes from watching her mother give to her family and community, igniting a passion in her to do the same. She figured law would be her pathway to provide help for others in a similar fashion, but in a different manner.

Raquiyah Dunger, 3rd year law student at John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia

After obtaining her bachelor’s degree, Raquiyah worked at a personal injury firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It was there that she knew she was on the right path. She loved the clients and the clients loved her. She remembers one of her clients saying, “you should be in law school now, what are you waiting on.” It was always these little confirmations that kept her going. Law school was Raquiyah’s next step. While in law school, Raquiyah developed an interest in immigration law … not through law school itself, but through her own personal experience.

“Love led me to immigration law. Going through the immigration process with my husband, experiencing long wait times, and completing ample amounts of paperwork … I realized that I was not limited in the ways I could help others in the legal field.”

It was then that Raquiyah decided to seek out immigration law firms and landed at Garvish Immigration Law Group. Raquiyah was our intern for two consecutive summers (2020 and 2021).

“It was at Garvish Immigration that I realized how much I enjoyed helping families come together with their loved ones from different parts of the world.”

When asked what words of wisdom she would impart to others, Raquiyah replied:

“My goal in life is to show others what God has done through my journey. I want to show people that with faith and drive you can accomplish all that you desire through God, just let him direct you. I was the first to travel this path in my family, with no direction, but from God. With each milestone I reach, I am left wondering … how did I even get here? The journey has not been easy. It’s been complicated, hard, with ups and downs, doubtful, and expensive. But I trust that it will pay off. One of my favorite Bible verses that keeps me going is 1 Timothy 6:12: fight the good fight of faith.”

Raquiyah is now finishing her third and final year of law school and will graduate in May 2022. We can’t wait to see what she does next!

“Your Trusted Guide to the American Dream”

This monthly blog series on Black History Month is produced by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee led by our Senior Attorney, Nadia Deans Kalata.