Welcome, Sumitra Dhakal - Our 2025 PLAN MLK Intern!

Headshot of Sumitra Dhakal

Hello! My name is Sumitra Dhakal and I have the privilege of working with the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project (PULP) through the summer as the 2025 PLAN MLK Jr. Intern.

I am a rising 2L at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, where I serve as the vice president of MESALSA (Middle Eastern and South Asian Law Student Association) and the Moving Party (A dance club!). In fall of 2025, I will continue to serve low income and vulnerable populations by working in the Law School’s Medical-Legal Clinic.

I earned my Bachelor's in International Affairs at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. Throughout my undergraduate career, my scholarship focused on the intersection of immigration, national security and security studies in general. I also had the opportunity to study abroad twice – once in London and once in Berlin.

My family is refugees from Bhutan and I was born in the refugee camps of Nepal, before being resettled through the UNHCR resettlement program. I spent my formative years in the diverse cities of Georgia where I witnessed, in the midst of the difference in our skin color, the language we spoke, or whom we prayed to, the similarities of our stories and struggles. While in my childhood I experienced the immigration and resettlement process as someone who benefitted from it, after graduating from Skidmore, I received the opportunity to serve that same community.

After my undergraduate education, I worked as a Refugee Resettlement Case Aid at Church World Service in Lancaster, PA – a refugee resettlement organization. In that position, I was able to support those who were recently resettled in Lancaster, PA to meet their medical and other social needs, and develop critical community support for the resettlement program.

After law school, I hope to be able to continue supporting low income and vulnerable populations and use my education and expertise to uplift those who otherwise might not have access to critical resources. To that end, I know that my summer with PULP will be extremely informative and rewarding. I am looking forward to working with some of the most dedicated attorneys and staff to learn more about the community and develop my own advocacy skills.

In my free time, you can find me reading, cooking Nepali food, playing tennis or dancing, and choreographing to Bollywood and Nepali songs.