Resilda Karafili attended the University of Michigan Law School where she received a Dean’s Scholarship for academic achievement and leadership and graduated Cum Laude in 2023. While at the University of Michigan Law School, Ms. Karafili was a member of the Michigan Immigration and Labor Law Association, a Note Editor for the Michigan Journal of Law Reform, President of the Bankruptcy Law Society, and a member of First-Generation Law Students.  

She also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Distinctions from the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, where she completed a triple major in Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology in 2013. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa for her high academic achievement and commitment to excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.  

Ms. Karafili, a former DACA beneficiary herself, was a strong advocate for immigrants’ rights while completing her undergraduate studies.  She fought for tuition equality to allow undocumented students who have graduated high school in the state of Michigan to pay in-state tuition at the University.  Ms. Karafili was also a strong advocate and a plaintiff in the fight for Michigan’s Secretary of State to issue driver licenses to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries.  This fight resulted in a change that allowed thousands of DACA beneficiaries in the state of Michigan to be able to obtain driver licenses.  In 2013, Ms. Karafili was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for her courage and commitment in her fight to secure equal rights and protections for all.