Whiquitta Tobar

Early life and education

Born and raised in the Arkansas Delta, Tobar grew up in Blythville and attended Blytheville High School. Tobar is the daughter of Frankie Hatcher and Willie Tobar, Sr. Tobar is the youngest of four children. She was raised in a trailer park with five other children. Her mother, Frankie Hatcher, worked at a restaurant to support the family. Later, Tobar's mother would have to take care of Tobar's brother who was paralyzed while still working. In 2014, Tobar's brother, Willie Lee Tobar, died from complications related to gunshot wounds and paralysis. As a child, Tobar participated in the Head Start Program. She stated: "I came from a single-parent household, and a lot of whatever I may have accomplished came from attending Head Start. Head Start taught me an awful lot of what I needed to know early in my life." While a student at Georgetown Law, Tobar met the woman who helped establish the program, Marian Wright Edelman. Tobar graduated from Blythville High in 2008.

Community service

After high school, Tobar attended Alabama A&M University where she became involved in community service on campus. Tobar interned with the Madison County, Alabama Commissioner’s office, where she helped former prisoners secure jobs upon release. She also volunteered at various domestic violence shelters. Her social justice activism influenced her interest in prison reform, women's rights, and labor law and her decision to attend law school. In 2011, Tobar participated in the Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad for study in Africa. Tobar was also involved in Young Democrats of America. She recalled: "I began helping with the voter registration drives, making certain that as many people as possible had the necessary information to become knowledgeable voters. As a result, I became much more politically active." As a senior, Tobar was named a candidate for the 2011-2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

In 2012, Tobar graduated from Alabama A&M University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy.

High school basketball

Tobar attended Blytheville High School where she played on the Lady Chickasaws basketball team. Arkansas Activities Association gave Tobar All-State recognition for her basketball play, in 2005, and in 2007. In 2008, Tobar was one of twelve seniors in Arkansas selected to play in the 2008 Arkansas State All-Star Basketball Game.

College basketball

After high school, Tobar played basketball at Alabama A&M University. As a junior, Tobar led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring, averaging 18.1 points per game, was third in steals (2.3), fourth in free throw percentage (.755), sixth in assists (3.0) and eighth in rebounding (6.3). Tobar was named a first-team All-SWAC selection. Heading into her senior year, Tobar was the SWAC's preseason Player of the Year. Tobar also went over the 1,000-point mark for her career. At the close of her senior campaign, Tobar was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Tobar was a prospect for the Women's National Basketball Association.

Law

After graduating from college, Tobar began studies at Georgetown University Law Center where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar. After her brother was shot and paralyzed from the neck down in an incident while she was growing up in rural Arkansas, Tobar aspired to be a public defender. Tobar was on the Pro Bono Board at Georgetown Law.

After graduating from Georgetown Law, Tobar became the Zubrow Fellow in Children’s Law at the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia.