Sauntharya Manikandan has focused her advocacy efforts in legal education, racial justice, and criminal justice reform. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Irvine in both Criminology, Law, and Society as well as Psychological Sciences with a minor in Digital Information System. Manikandan has worked to educate high school students on their first amendment rights. She also worked with the UC Irvine Saturday Academy of Law program providing legal outreach to undergrads as ASUCI Legal Education Clinic Commissioner. Through these experiences she realized “The laws can only fully serve their purpose if people are able to mobilize [them]!”

In addition to her passion for legal education, she is also interested in pursuing diversity and inclusion across all levels. As part of her work with the Deconstructing Diversity Initiative and Asian Pacific Islander Capitol Association, she gained valuable training. Manikandan encourages others to view diversity as strengths rather than as barriers. More importantly, she wants to motivate others to recognize the need to advocate for these changes.