Sahiba Tandon

Sahiba grew up in Lansdale, PA, born to Indian immigrants. She attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania as a Thomas B. McCabe Scholar and graduated with a B.A. in Political Sociology and a minor in English Literature. She studied Criminology, Political Theory, and English Theory abroad at the University of Oxford in 2023. Throughout her undergraduate career, Sahiba spent less time in the classroom and more time in her broader Philadelphia community. Sahiba’s academic research focused on the gendered dynamics of the carceral system in Philadelphia, especially the reshaping of motherhood, femininity, and dignity, as well as the intersections of class and race with civic engagement and political participation for low-income Philadelphians. The heart of her work prior to law school and drive towards her legal career now lies in her time working inside Philadelphia’s jails and prisons, tutoring indigent incarcerated people on high school subjects and associate-degree courses with the Petey Greene Program as well as being a Teaching Assistant, and now certified Teaching Instructor, for the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program with a focus on the history of politics and punishment and the role of storytelling and identity. Sahiba was recognized as the inaugural National James S. Farrin Volunteer of the Year in 2024. Just blocks from the prison where she tutored in the mornings, she tutored low-income elementary school children as well, directly diverting children from the school-to-prison pipeline in Chester, PA. She has also spent time with juveniles on parole in the educational setting. She continues to work with elementary school children, coaching them on creative and persuasive writing and public speaking for competition in the National Speech and Debate Association.

At Georgetown Law, Sahiba is a proud RISE Fellow and board member for the Abolition Advocacy Project and Georgetown Defenders. Sahiba is dedicated to a career in public defense with aspirations towards criminal defense and death-penalty litigation. Outside law school, Sahiba volunteers as an ice skating coach and loves to sing in community. She also loves to backpack, be in nature, be creative, and watch movies.