University of Houston Law Center student Natalie Luera
June 21, 2023 — University of Houston Law Center 1L Natalie Luera has been selected as the Student Bar Association President for the 2023-24 academic year.
“I’m excited that the student body chose me to be their upcoming president,” she said.
Elected by the UHLC students, Luera chose to run for president after her interaction with the previous board as the 1L representative and expressed her eagerness to begin her tenure this upcoming fall semester.
SBA is the students' organization at the UH Law Center, describing itself as the umbrella organization of all other UHLC student groups. The organization represents the needs and concerns of the student body to faculty and UHLC administration, represents UHLC in the local and national law communities, and sponsors a variety of social and networking events throughout the school year.
The incoming SBA President’s passion for representing and speaking up for others was what encouraged her to attend law school.
“I wanted to be a lawyer because I’ve always wanted to advocate on behalf of other people,” she said. “I decided that advocating on behalf of others in this capacity is what I wanted to do, and I can do that in any way. I can advocate in a transactional sense, or in a litigation sense because no matter who you’re advocating for, whether that be one client or the public, you can do that in this career.”
Originally from Texas, Luera has lived in multiple cities including Houston, Beaumont, Lubbock, and College Station during her time attending Texas A&M University. She also lived in Georgia when she was younger. Luera chose UHLC because of her attraction to the city of Houston, which began when she was an undergraduate student.
“At Texas A&M, I knew a lot of people who were from Houston, and we’d also have to come here for many events because College Station is only an hour up the road,” Luera said. “Over those years, I fell in love with Houston and the University of Houston Law Center was my top pick because it’s a top law school in a top city.”
Now that she has started her journey at UHLC, Luera feels more comfortable. She described being overwhelmed with information during her first semester but began adjusting to what she was learning and identified her academic goals.
“After a while, I figured out what I’m doing, why I’m here, and now I feel like I’m on a good path,” Luera said. “I feel more at ease.”
Doing well in class and excelling on exams are what Luera describes as being the most rewarding parts of law school.
“To me, that means that I am synthesizing the information correctly and I am applying it in the way I should be,” she said. “I’m here to learn the law and use it correctly. And I feel like in those ways, I am doing it correctly; it’s very rewarding.”
One of Luera’s favorite aspects of law school is the new John M. O’Quinn Law Building, which opened in the fall of 2022. The 180,000-square-foot, $93 million facility includes a multi-level library, a meditation room, a courtroom, commuter showers, student lounges, an advocacy skills lab and a contactless convenience store.
“This brand-new building is amazing,” Luera said. “It has all the bells and whistles, incredible study rooms and classrooms, and all of the natural light really helps me focus. It’s a great building to have law school in.”
Because they will be learning a lot of new information, Luera advises incoming law students to ask for help from everyone they can, including professors, teacher assistants, and 2L and 3L students.
“They’re here to help you, especially the TAs and the professors,” she said. “They know what they’re talking about and they want to help you. That’s why they’re here. That’s why they’re doing what they’re doing.”
The University of Houston Law Center 2023-24 SBA Executive Board members are:
