HOPE Miami Scholars Class of 2023, 2024, 2025

PUBLIC INTEREST RESOURCE CENTER

PUBLIC INTEREST PROGRAM

“The Miami Scholars Public Interest Program represents dedicated and extraordinary students at Miami Law. Their passion for justice, intellectual curiosity and motivation drives them to effectuate change in agencies and communities near and far.”

~Marni Lennon, Esq. Assistant Dean for Public Interest and Pro Bono Director, HOPE Public Interest Resource Center Lecturer in Law

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

MIAMI SCHOLARS PUBLIC INTEREST PROGRAM

Established in 1997, the Miami Scholars Public Interest Program brings exceptional students with a passion for public service and social justice to the University of Miami School of Law. Miami Scholars are selected based on their outstanding academic credentials and demonstrated commitment to public service and advocacy.

The Miami Scholars Public Interest Program offers its students exclusive opportunities for legal advocacy training and advising from the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center team of attorneys, including individualized curriculum advising and career planning assistance. Miami Scholars receive mentoring by upper-division Scholars and public interest and pro bono attorneys.

Miami Scholars are awarded an annual scholarship and are provided with a stipend for public interest work that is performed during their first or second year summer. Tuition awards are automatically renewed if the scholar remains in good standing.

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As an alumna with a legal career dedicated to public service, I am excited to watch the continued expansion of the Miami Scholars Program. It now affords even more students the opportunity to find their passion, do what they love, and serve our community with vigor and spirit.

The Miami Scholars Program gave me the ability to take internships in disability law and attend a dual degree program in my field of interest, Public Health. My reasons for my lifelong support of the Miami Scholars Program continue to multiply. Law school can be a challenging place for those who envision themselves as civil servants. The support of the other Miami Scholars and Dean Lennon kept me focused on my ultimate goals and helped me pinpoint one-of-a-kind opportunities that I would not have had otherwise.

The Miami Scholars Program connected me with a network of students and alumni dedicated to public service and social justice. Having this community made law school a much more fulfilling experience, and helped me develop a network that has guided me into my career. With the support of the Miami Scholars Program, I was able to take summer internships across the country to work on environmental justice issues and connect with alumni and professionals doing similar work. The community that the program creates for its students and alumni is invaluable.

~Fara Gold, JD ’03 United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, Washington, DC

~Kathy Walker, JD ’13 Director, Medical-Legal Partnerships Pisgah Legal Services, Asheville, NC

~Katrina Tomas, JD ’19 Earthjustice San Francisco, CA

ISABELLE CARBAJALES

Isabelle Carbajales graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University in December 2019 with a B.S. in Political Science and Sociology and earned a certification in US Intelligence Studies. She served as a Student Representative for the Florida State Honor Council, was a member of Phi Alpha Delta International, and was on the Dean’s and President’s Lists. In the fall of 2017, she served as a copy editor for the Diverse World Fashion Magazine, and the following spring she was an intern and tutor for the Dare to Dream Young Girls Network. During her senior year, Isabelle served as a Communications Intern for the Innocence Project of Florida, where she redesigned the quarterly newsletter and wrote articles and social media content to tell the stories of wrongfully incarcerated individuals who have been exonerated by the efforts of the Innocence Network. Prior to law school, she worked as a legal assistant for a law firm, where she assisted with immigration cases for clients wishing to obtain visas, establish permanent residency, and attain US citizenship. As a 1L at Miami Law, Isabelle served as a Miami Law Ambassador. During her 1L summer, she was a judicial intern with the Honorable Jacqueline Becerra of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. As a 2L, Isabelle served as an extern at UHealth, where she worked on regulatory compliance issues and with the Honorable Judge Jose Martinez in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She was a Junior Staff Editor on the University of Miami Law Review, where she was awarded the Soia Mentschikoff Award for Excellence in Scholarly Writing for her student note selected for publication. She was also elected to the University of Miami Honor Council. During her 2L summer, Isabelle worked as a litigation summer associate in Holland & Knight’s Miami office. As a 3L, she is a legal intern with the Innocence Clinic and the Senior Articles Editor of the University of Miami Law Review.

MYLES CRANDALL

Myles Crandall graduated cum laude from Claremont McKenna College in California in May 2010 with a B.A. with Honors in History and Government. He earned an M.A. with Honors in Curriculum & Instruction: Pedagogy in Urban Education from the University of Colorado Denver in August 2014. While an undergraduate, he was a member of the CMS Men's Tennis Team, studied abroad in France, and completed an honors thesis. During summers, Myles taught in Ghana, and with Breakthrough Collaborative in Denver and Hong Kong. Following graduation, he taught in France and worked with the International Rescue Committee in Salt Lake City, where he assisted refugees finding their first job in America. In 2012, Myles joined Teach for America in Denver, where he taught US History, drafted curricula, led summer/after-school STEM programs, and coached girls’ basketball. In 2015, he began working as a social studies teacher at the Salt Lake Center for Science Education, a diverse Title I school. He also served as a college advisor for first-generation students and organized LGBTQIA+ student club meetings. He partnered with organizations to enrich the student experience through exposure to restorative justice, gender studies, and immigrant perspectives. As a 1L at Miami Law, Myles completed pro bono projects to restore returning citizens’ voting rights, challenge discriminatory evictions, track COVID-19 cases in prisons, and understand Florida courts’ fines and fees system. During his 1L summer, Myles interned at the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Florida in the Capital Habeas Unit, participating in research and writing for client appeals. As a 2L, he participated in the Innocence Clinic and served as President of the ACLU at Miami Law. During his 2L

MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2023

summer, Myles interned with the Sixth Amendment Center, drafting reports about the right to counsel and indigent defense systems in several jurisdictions across the country. As a 3L, Myles is a Certified Legal Intern at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and a Fellow with the Innocence Clinic.

REUNIE FAUSTIN

Reunie Faustin graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami in May 2019 with a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science. She was a member of the President’s and Provost’s Honor Roll, a President’s Scholarship recipient, a Florida Academic Scholar, a Horizons Mentor, a facilitator for Theatre-In-Action, and an ambassador for the UM Department of Student Life. From 20182019, she volunteered with the UM Disciplinary Hearing Panel, was Director of Internal Operations for the UM Mock Trial Team, and served as the Executive Council Field Coordinator for the American Enterprise Institute, where she promoted substantive conversations about public policy on campus through forums, lecture series, and debates. As a Horizons Mentor, Reunie assisted and connected new multicultural students with community-based support resources. Beginning in the fall of 2018, Reunie volunteered with Americans for Immigrant Justice screening clinics and worked as a Student Success Coach for AmeriCorps: City Year Miami. As a Student Success Coach, she launched a female mentorship program to increase confidence and provide support for female students, and created and directed grade-wide student recognition initiatives in collaboration with school leaders. As a 1L at Miami Law, Reunie volunteered with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, working on parole requests and communicating with sponsors. During her 1L summer, she interned with the Miami- Dade Public Defender’s Office in the Capital Litigation Unit. As a 2L, she served as the Caribbean Bar Chair for the Black Law Students Association and participated in the Innocence Clinic. During her 2L summer, Reunie worked on immigration cases as an intern with Catholic Legal Services. She is studying abroad in France during the fall of her 3L year.

COSIMO GAUDIO

Cosimo Gaudio graduated from the University of Miami in May 2020 with a B.A. in Economics and History. He served as a student assistant for the Butler Center for Service and Leadership, where he coordinated programs and helped students seeking volunteer opportunities. Through the Butler Center, Cosimo also participated as a Service Day volunteer, where he took part in various annual service events in South Florida. In 2018, he worked as an ambassador for Get Out the Vote. During his junior year, he served as a Children’s Branch Volunteer for Coconut Grove Cares, where he helped with an after-school program for children in the Coconut Grove community. In the spring of 2019, he volunteered with and conducted research at the University of Miami European Union Center. That summer, Cosimo interned for Northwest Workers’ Justice Project in Portland, OR, where he created damages calculations spreadsheets for attorneys and managed client files. Prior to entering law school, he served as a volunteer intern for Florida Justice Institute (FJI), where he read and summarized intake letters from inmates across the state. During his 1L year at Miami Law, Cosimo continued working with FJI, performing document review during discovery for a class action lawsuit. He also served as a research assistant for Professor Alfieri. During his 1L summer, Cosimo served as a legal intern with People’s Law Project

MIAMI SCHOLARS

in Portland, OR. As a 2L, he participated in the Children & Youth Law Clinic and served as an extern with FJI. During his 2L summer, Cosimo returned to the Northwest Workers’ Justice Project as a legal intern. As a 3L, he is serving as a certified legal intern in the Tenants’ Rights Division of Legal Services of Greater Miami, Fellow for the Children & Youth Law Clinic, and a research assistant to Professor Elmore.

EVAN GILBERT

Evan Gilbert graduated from Vanderbilt University in May 2015 with a B.A. in History. He was a member of the Dean’s List and studied abroad in France. Following graduation, he was selected to participate as an Americorps Fellow with Avodah, a Jewish social justice organization dedicated to fighting poverty and creating lasting social change. During his time in Avodah, Evan learned how to better engage with his Jewish values to advocate for racial and economic justice, and worked as an Entrepreneurship Coordinator with BUILD, a Washington, DC non-profit that teaches critical life skills to high school students in low-income communities through the process of starting a business. Following Avodah, Evan joined the Democratic Staff of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, where, as the Press Assistant and then Deputy Press Secretary, he served as a spokesperson and developed and led press strategy on various pieces of legislation, including bills to save net neutrality and combat dangerous robocall scams. During his 1L summer at Miami Law, Evan served as a judicial intern with the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. During his 2L summer, he served as an intern with the Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida. Evan has also participated in the Innocence Clinic, and is a member of the University of Miami Law Review and Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court Board.

RACHEL GOPICHAND

Rachel Gopichand graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology. She was a member of the Dean’s List and the UNC Undergraduate Honor Court. She volunteered in the areas of sexual assault awareness/ prevention and childhood literacy. Rachel also volunteered for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in Raleigh, NC, where she met with children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to ensure that their greatest wishes were granted. During the summer of 2019, she interned for the Office of the District Attorney in Jacksonville, NC, where she managed District and Superior Court case files and drafted legal memoranda, motions, and Superior Court indictments, and assisted attorneys with research and witness preparation. During her 1L year at Miami Law, Rachel was sworn in as a Guardian ad Litem, where she advocates on behalf of children in the dependency system throughout their court proceedings. Rachel also became a Miami Law Ambassador and a member of the Children and Family Law Society. During her 1L summer, Rachel continued her passion for family law and child advocacy as a law clerk at a family law firm in Coral Gables, FL. During her 2L summer, Rachel served as a law clerk with a federal civil rights litigation firm in Miami. As a 3L, Rachel continues serving as a Miami Law Ambassador and as a Guardian ad Litem for the State of Florida, which she describes as her most rewarding experience during law school.

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CLASS OF 2023

MEGAN HENNINGS

Megan Hennings graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2015 with a B.A. in Spanish and Political Science. After graduation, she worked at UNC-Charlotte in International Programs and New Student Services while also completing graduate courses in the Department of Philosophy & Applied Ethics and volunteering for the Southern Regional Model United Nations Atlanta conference. From 2017-2019, Megan worked at the Prescott College Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies in Sonora, Mexico in fundraising and communications. As a 1L at Miami Law, she was an active member in the National Lawyers Guild and OUTLaw. During her 1L summer, she served as an intern with the legal clinic at Bread For The City, a holistic direct services organization in Washington, DC. As a 2L, Megan served as a Housing Intern in the Environmental Justice Clinic, the founding president of the Mental Health Collective, the Secretary of Miami Law's National Lawyers Guild chapter, and a Dean’s Fellow for Constitutional Law I. During the spring of 2021, she became a Research Fellow for the Climate & Equity Mapping Platform in UM’s Office of Civic & Community Engagement, creating a policy toolkit for local approaches to intersecting issues of extreme heat and affordable housing. During her 2L summer, Megan returned to her home state of North Carolina to intern with the Southern Environmental Law Center where she worked on utility regulation, decarbonization, and other administrative law issues. As a 3L, Megan is serving as an intern with the ACLU of Florida, serving as a co-Chair of the Struggle for Miami’s Sustainable & Affordable Housing (SMASH) Policy Committee, and continuing as President of the Mental Health Collective. Megan has earned CALI Awards in Constitutional Law I and The Criminalization of Homelessness: Causes, Policy, and Practical Lawyering Seminar.

OLIVIA JOHNSON

Olivia Johnson graduated cum laude from the University of Florida in May 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a minor in Sociology. She was a Gator Nation Scholar, as well as a member of the President’s List and the Dean’s List. She served as a volunteer mentor in several capacities, including for children with disabilities and at-risk young women. She also worked with Children Beyond Our Borders, assisting firstgeneration college applicants in the Alachua County School System with test preparation and life skills. During the summer of 2018, Olivia served as an Education Intern with the Tennessee Department of Education, where she drafted projects and grant proposals. Her research helped secure funding for apprenticeship programs in Nashville public schools. Upon graduation, she worked as an English teacher at Georgia Jones Ayers Middle School, a Title I school in Miami, where she was named Rookie Teacher of the Year. At Miami Law, Olivia is a member of the University of Miami Law Review and the 2022-2023 UMLR symposium co-director. During her 1L summer, she served as an intern with the Everglades Law Center in Miami. As a 2L, Olivia participated in the Environmental Justice Clinic and served as a Dean's Fellow for Torts. During her 2L summer, she was a Summer Associate at McDermott Will & Emery, where she worked on healthcare matters and renewable energy project finance. During her 3L year, she is working as a law clerk for Legal Services of Greater Miami in the Community Economic Development unit.

KENDRICK MEEK JR.

Kendrick Meek Jr. graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Political Science and a focus in public policy. In 2015, Kendrick served as an intern to the Committee on US House Administration, supporting the committee’s oversight of federal elections, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution. In 2016, Kendrick interned with the Democratic National Convention Committee, working with disability rights advocates to bring the convention complex into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2017, Kendrick received a research assistantship with the UF Department of Political Science to study absentee ballot rejections and their disproportionate impact on communities of color and aging populations. After graduating from college, Kendrick joined the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, DC as a legal assistant, advocating for dignity and equal rights for LGBTQ Americans. During his 1L summer at Miami Law, he served as an intern with the US House of Representative’s Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. During his 2L summer, Kendrick served as an intern at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President in Washington, DC.

LAUREN O’NEIL

Lauren O’Neil graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia Honors Program in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance & International Business. She was selected to participate in several fellows and scholars programs based on her leadership and academic skills. She received a research assistantship for her work with the UGA Finance Department pertaining to antitrust law. During her final year in college, Lauren worked with the Business Law Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law, assisting a group of 3Ls with drafting memos and performing research for local entrepreneurs. She founded the student organization Women in Law, was the President of the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity, studied abroad in Spain, and served as a volunteer tutor for Spanish-speaking high school students. During the summer of 2018, Lauren was an undergraduate intern with the US Attorney’s Office in Savannah, taking part in the introduction of the DOJ Project Safe Neighborhood Initiative. Throughout her time at Miami Law, Lauren has served as a Guardian ad Litem volunteer and a member of the Public Interest Leadership Board (PILB). During her 1L summer, she worked as an intern at the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. As a 2L, Lauren participated in the Miami Law Innocence Clinic, served on the executive boards for the Society of Bar & Gavel and Miami Law Women, and externed for a district judge and a white-collar litigation firm. During her 2L year, she and her partner won the school-wide John T. Gaubatz Moot Court Competition. She also participated in an alternative winter break with the National Association of Counsel for Children. During her 2L summer, she worked as a litigation summer associate for DLA Piper. As a 3L, Lauren serves on the executive board of the University of Miami Law Review and the Charles C. Papy Moot Court Board. She also volunteers for the National Center for Youth Law and continues her work with the Innocence Clinic as a Fellow.

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DARIA PIETROPAOLO

Daria Pietropaolo graduated from the University of Miami in 2020 with degrees in Political Science and Restorative Justice. She was a member of the President’s & Provost’s Honor Rolls and Dean’s List, the ACC Academic Honor Roll, the Foote Fellows Honors Program, and the 3+3 Joint Degree Program in Law. Daria participated as an Associate Justice of the Student Government Supreme Court and interned at the European Union Center. She also served as a research assistant for the Political Science Department, Religious Studies Department, and the School of Law, all while competing as a Division I student-athlete on the Cross Country and Track & Field teams. During her freshman summer, she participated in the Summer Scholars Program, assisting professors teaching Global Business and Introduction to International Relations, and served as a judicial intern at the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami, reviewing court documents and sentencing orders. She also worked with the US Court of International Trade. During the summers of 2019 and 2020, she was a member of the Forest Foundation Summer Internship Program as an intern for Adolescent Consultation Services/Middlesex County Juvenile Court Clinic, where she developed a comprehensive proposal for the clinic to expand their capacity to serve as a referral agency for diversion cases and participated in grant writing and development. As a 1L at Miami Law, Daria worked as a research assistant in the area of international trade law for Professor Kathleen Claussen. During her 1L summer, she served as a legal intern with the International Trade Field Office within the US Department of Justice. During her 2L summer, she was a summer associate at Shook, Hardy, and Bacon, L.L.P. In addition to her JD, Daria is pursuing her LLM in International Arbitration.

KATE RUSTON

Kate Ruston graduated with honors from Claremont McKenna College in California in May 2016 with a B.A. in Middle East Studies. She received the Kravis Leadership Institute and Community Service Internship Awards and founded Project Nur, a social justice initiative advocating acceptance and mutual respect between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. She spent her junior year studying abroad in Amman, Jordan, where she worked with the Danish Refugee Council and the Collateral Repair Project. During the summer of 2014, Kate served as an intern with Development Transformations in Washington, DC, supporting USAID programs in Yemen and Afghanistan. The next summer, she returned to Washington as a Food Security Policy & Global Health Policy Intern with Save the Children. Following graduation, she moved to Cairo, Egypt, first working as a development officer for aid programs in Zambia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Mozambique, and then teaching at the British International Modern School there. From 2017-2019, Kate served as Head of Global Perspectives for the Egypt British International School. She most recently served as a Volunteer Legal Advisor for St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Cairo, assisting clients throughout the resettlement process. She has engaged in many community service efforts, including with Mercy Corps in Jordan, Share a Smile in Egypt, and the Interfaith Hospitality Network which services the homeless in Athens, Georgia. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Kate served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Lisette M. Reid in the Southern District of Florida and the Honorable Adalberto Jordan in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. As a 2L, she served as president of the Human Rights Society and co-chair of the Public Interest Leadership Board and volunteered with the Guardian ad Litem program. During her 2L summer, Kate worked on immigration matters as a summer associate with Fragomen. As a 3L, she continues to serve on the Public Interest Leadership Board. In addition to her JD, Kate is pursuing her LLM in International Arbitration.

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DAVID SCOLLAN

David Scollan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in May of 2017 with a B.A. in African Studies and Political Science and a minor in International Development. He earned an M.Sc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics in December of 2018. He spent his summers as an intern in the US House of Representatives, Senate, and Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. During the fall of his junior year, he studied abroad in Tanzania, where he conducted field research on land inheritance legal processes, and served as a field assistant for the Clinton Foundation, assisting with workshops on sustainable farming. He completed his master’s dissertation on the effectiveness of U.N. humanitarian reporting in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During his 1L summer at Miami Law, David interned with the US Department of Justice in the Office of the US Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, V.I. There, he worked on weapons trafficking, human trafficking, and white-collar criminal tax cases. He also assisted US Attorney Gretchen Shappert in researching, editing, and drafting a Journal of Federal Law and Practice article on prosecuting multi-jurisdiction environmental crimes. As a 2L, David led Miami Law's International Moot Court Program's International Criminal Court Moot Court team in its year-long effort to clinch the title of Best Regional Team for the Americas and Oceania. At the international rounds in The Hague, the Netherlands, David won world-wide Best Oralist, Best Defense Counsel, and First Runner-Up for Best Defense Counsel Memorial, defending his fictional client on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity. During his 2L summer, David returned to the Department of Justice as a HOPE Fellow in the Office on Office on Violence Against Women, where he assisted in drafting the firstever US National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.

DANIELA TORRES

Daniela Torres graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Florida in May 2019 with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in Leadership Studies and General Business Administration. She was a National Hispanic Scholar and a USF Presidential Scholarship Recipient. She served as a junior board member with the Migrants Rights Foundation, a volunteer with the Venezuela Awareness Project, and a cultural ambassador with Tampa Hispanic Heritage. She traveled to Colombia to assist with the Venezuelan humanitarian crisis and mentored youth from diverse backgrounds as part of Community Tampa Bay, an organization whose mission is to address discrimination in the Tampa area. From 2017-2018, Daniela worked as an intern with a law firm in St. Petersburg, assisting with depositions, hearings, and file management. In 2019, she joined Migrants Foundation, Inc., an immigration advocacy organization in Tampa. As Program Development Manager, she assisted with case management and participated in the creation of new programming. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, she was selected as a Hurricane Maria Disaster Relief Sustained Impact Fellow by the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation, working on post-Hurricane Maria recovery issues with Centro Para Puerto Rico. As a 2L, she participated in the Immigration Clinic. During her 2L summer, Daniela returned to Migrants Foundation as a Nonprofit Management Intern and developed employee workshops, updated the organization’s data management strategy, and worked on TPS applications following the extension of protected status for Venezuelan nationals.

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VICTORIA TOUZINSKY

Victoria Touzinsky graduated from the University of Missouri in December 2019 with B.A. degrees in Political Science and Women’s & Gender Studies. She served as president of Stronger Together Against Relationship and Sexual Violence and advocated for structural change regarding access and quality of service for survivors, organizing events to increase awareness and working one-on-one with fellow students. She also served as a Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention

Peer Coordinator, facilitating conversations regarding sexual violence prevention. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Victoria served as an intern with the Center For Popular Democracy based in Washington, DC, working on racial and economic justice policy initiatives. As a 2L, she participated in the Innocence Clinic which helped shaped her passion for criminal defense work. During her 2L summer, she served as a HOPE Fellow with the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office and is continuing her work there as a Certified Legal Intern during the fall of her 3L year

ABIGAIL YOUNG

Abigail Young graduated from the University of WisconsinMadison in 2017 with a B.A. in International Studies, Political Science, and Latin American & Iberian Studies and a certificate in African Studies. She worked as a Communication and Translation Intern for the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, served as a State Senate Intern for Wisconsin Senator Mark Miller, worked as a research assistant for UW-Madison’s Department of Political Science, and studied abroad in Toledo and Barcelona, Spain. While in Toledo, Abigail worked at the provincial courts of Castilla La Mancha. During her semester in Barcelona, she worked in the International Department at the Barcelona Bar Association and was selected to participate in a European Union Activism Seminar in Brussels, Belgium. After graduating, Abigail worked as a Congressional Intern for Rep, Keith Ellison in the US House of Representatives and served as a Public Partnership Intern for UNICEF. During the two years prior to law school, Abigail worked for Family Health International (FHI 360) as a Business Development Officer, where she managed the proposal development process for globally-implemented projects. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Abigail worked as Summer Counsel in the housing practice of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and continued her position as a research assistant to Professor Alfieri. As a 2L, she worked in the Innocence Clinic and served as co-chair of the Public Interest Leadership Board. During her 2L summer, Abigail was a Squire Patton Boggs

Racial Justice Fellow working in the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law based in Washington, DC. During the fall of her 3L year, she is working as a Certified Legal Intern for the Domestic Representation Unit of the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office. Abigail is also on the Race and Social Justice Law Review, President of the Criminal Law Society, and a member of the Moot Court Board.

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AMELIA ANDERSON

Amelia Anderson graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College in May 2018 with a B.A. in Latin American Studies and a minor in Religious Studies. She earned her M.A. in Religion, with a focus on Religion in the Americas, as well as a Certificate in Latin American Studies, from the University of Florida in April 2021. While an undergraduate, Amelia received departmental honors, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, studied abroad in Peru and Spain, and conducted research in Cuba. She also served as co-president of the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. As a graduate student, she was the recipient of the Summer 2020 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study Haitian Creole with Florida International University and also worked as a teaching assistant. During the summer of 2017, Amelia served as a Teaching Fellow for Breakthrough Miami, where she mentored middle school students from under-resourced communities to help them successfully navigate middle school and lead them towards high school graduation and college. The following year, she worked as a College Advisor for the Americorps Program’s Advising Corps at Davidson College, assisting low-income, first-generation college and underrepresented high school students in the college admissions and financial aid process. As a 1L at Miami Law, Amelia served as a Miami Law Ambassador and participated in Alternative Breaks with Catholic Legal Services and Disability Independence Group. During her 1L summer, she was a law clerk with Legal Services of Greater Miami in the Tenants' Rights Unit. As a 2L, Amelia is participating in the Immigration Clinic, a member of the University of Miami Law Review, a research assistant for Professor Rueda Saiz, and serving as an extern for the Honorable Beth Bloom in the Southern District of Florida.

ALEXANDER BRUNO

Alexander Bruno graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond in May 2020 with a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, Economics, and Law and a concentration in Philosophy. He was a member of the Dean’s List, and studied abroad in Verona, Italy. A member and team captain of the University of Richmond Mock Trial Team, Alexander competed in tournaments and received the Wake Forest 2019 Invitational Outstanding Attorney Award. During the summer of 2017, he served as an intern with the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, where he assisted with document preparation and observed grand jury proceedings. During his 1L summer at Miami Law, he served as an intern with the Misdemeanor Unit of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, where he observed court proceedings, wrote motion responses and legal memos, prepared information forms and court calendars, and researched legal issues for the Assistant State Attorneys. During the fall of his 2L year, Alexander is interning with the Career Criminals and Robberies Unit of the MiamiDade State Attorney’s Office while competing on the University of Miami School of Law Trial Team.

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CLASS OF 2024

DANIELLE BUKACHESKI

Danielle Bukacheski graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2019 with a B.A. in Women’s Studies with a focus on Gender and Health. She earned her M.S.in Urban Education at the University of Pennsylvania in May 2021, submitting a thesis entitled The Impact of a Parent's Criminal Record on Parental Involvement in Educational Spaces. During undergraduate, Danielle served as an editor for the Undergraduate Journal of Public Health and a staff facilitator for the University of Michigan Program on Intergroup Relations, where she facilitated workshops to increase awareness about social identities, privilege, and oppression. During her senior year, she served as vice president for the Prison Birth Project, where she organized speaking panels and symposium events with prison reform activists, correctional officers, and policy professionals. While pursuing her master’s degree, she worked as an interviewer for the Entry Rate and Disproportionality Study, focusing on the overrepresentation of families of color in Philadelphia's child welfare system. Prior to law school, Danielle volunteered as a Pardon Coach for Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, assisting and coaching clients with submitting pardon applications and preparing for interviews with the Board of Probation and Parole. As a 1L at Miami Law, Danielle volunteered with the ACLU of FL Immigrant Detention Tracking Pro Bono Project and was a research assistant for Professor Alfieri through the Center for Ethics and Public Service. Danielle spent her 1L summer as a legal intern at the Federal Defender of the Western District of Missouri in Kansas City, MO, in the trial and appellate units. As a 2L, Danielle is participating in the Innocence Clinic.

BEN BUTIN

Ben Butin graduated from the University of Georgia in December 2019 with a B.A. in Political Science. He was a member of the Dean’s List, studied abroad in Verona, Italy, and wrote for the Georgia Political Review. Throughout college, Ben served as a co- president of Breaking the Shackles, a non-profit created to equip college students with the tools to fight modern-day slavery and human trafficking. He led courses, managed volunteers, established community partnerships, and assisted with a 300-person conference on Human Rights and Sex Trafficking. During the fall of 2017, Ben interned for the Athens Clarke County Public Defender’s Office, where he assisted attorneys by visiting incarcerated clients and conveying plea negotiations. He also transcribed and summarized evidence, including police interviews and body camera/surveillance videos. In 2018, Ben performed research which analyzed the legislative history of Georgia Crime Bill 1176 and its effects on Georgia criminal policy, as well as the desegregation of the Glynn County School System. During the summer of 2019, he served as an intern in Georgia’s State Court DUI/Drug Accountability Program, where he assisted judges, analyzed data, and tracked demographics for the Athens DUI Drug Court to ensure equivalent access and prevent disparate outcomes for participants in the program. As a 1L at Miami Law, Ben was a member of the Dean's List. During his 1L summer, he served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Darrin P. Gayles of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. As a 2L, he is participating in the Innocence Clinic.

LAURA CURRY

Laura Curry graduated from West Virginia University in May 2021 with a B.A. in History. While in college Laura volunteered with the Appalachian Prison Book Project (APBP) and organized the first Walk for Justice to support APBP's mission of providing educational opportunities to incarcerated individuals. In 2019, she was awarded a Boren Scholarship, one of 23 in the country, to complete a long-term immersion and language acquisition study in Tanzania. Prior to entering law school, Laura volunteered with Catholic Charities in Cleveland, Ohio, where she supported Swahili-speaking immigrants and refugees by providing interpretation and serving as an intern refugee case manager. As a 1L at Miami Law, Laura worked with the Court Data Project to identify errors that prevented cases from closing and submitted data which will be used to develop new training materials to reduce the number of cases erroneously left open on Florida state court dockets. During her 1L summer, Laura served as a law clerk with the Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans, LA.

PATRICIA GARRETT

Patricia Garrett graduated cum laude from New York University in May 2020 with a B.A. in Global Liberal Studies, a concentration in Politics, Rights, and Development, and a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies. She earned her M.A. in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University in October 2021. While an undergraduate, Patricia was a member of the Dean’s List, received the Founder’s Day Award, and studied abroad in London and France. During the summer of 2018, she served as a legal assistant for a firm in Rochester, NY. In 2019 and 2020, Patricia worked as a Program Engagement Intern and Program Engagement Assistant for Human Rights Watch in New York City. As an intern, she tracked and evidence of the agency’s impact, and drafted, edited and finalized the development department’s newsletter. As an assistant, she planned monthly researcher-led field visits to various national and international locations and coordinated all field mission logistics with researchers, staff, and outside partners. She also prepared briefing materials and maintained field mission data. Patricia also volunteered at a refugee camp in France and served as a hospice volunteer in New York and Belize. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Patricia worked at EPGD Business Law where she focused on drafting contracts, wills and trusts. As a 2L, Patricia is serving local organizations focused on aiding female immigrants fleeing gender-based violence.

ELIZABETH HANSEL

Elizabeth Hansel graduated cum laude from Occidental College in May 2019 with a B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs and a minor in Chinese Studies. She earned a distinction for her senior thesis which explored local NGO approaches to transitional justice and reconciliation in Cambodia. She traveled to Cambodia in January 2019 to interview leaders of civil society on their approaches to and views on transitional justice. She also studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan. Throughout her senior year, she worked as a JusticeCorps Minimum Time Member for the Pasadena Superior Courthouse, where she assisted self-represented litigants in the civil court self-help center and developed Mandarin language workshops for simple dissolution cases.

MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2024

As a 2019-2020 Fulbright Grant recipient, Elizabeth spent eight months as an English Teaching Assistant in Changhua County, Taiwan. As a 1L at Miami Law, Elizabeth was a member of the National Lawyers Guild, a Student Ambassador with the Admissions office, and a 1L Intern with Housing and Community Economic Development Project with the Center for Ethics and Public Service. During her 1L summer, Elizabeth served as an intern with The Legal Aid Society of New York City’s Health Law Unit. As a 2L, she serves as co-chair of the Public Interest Leadership Board, is a program assistant with the Environmental Law Program, and interns with Dade Legal Aid’s Domestic Violence Program.

SANDRA LACKMANN

Sandra Lackmann graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University in December 2018 with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish and a minor in Human Rights. She was a member of the Dean’s List, a National Buckeye Scholar, and a member of Sigma Iota Rho. She also served as a student assistant with The Ohio State Center for Latin American Studies.

Sandra studied abroad in San José, Costa Rica, for which she received a merit-based grant. In 2017, she served as an Immigration Legal Intern with the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, a nonprofit immigration and refugee agency in Raleigh, NC. In 2018, she interned with Ayuda, an immigration and refugee agency in Fairfax, VA, and defended her honors thesis on asylum-seeking women and US immigration law. Following graduation, she worked as a paralegal for an immigration law firm in Worthington, OH, and then served as operations coordinator and later senior legal assistant for another immigration firm in Columbus, OH, focusing on complex removal defense, consular processing, and waivers. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Sandra clerked at Catholic Charities Legal Services, working on deportation defense and asylum cases of unaccompanied refugee minors. During the fall of her 2L year, Sandra is working as a law clerk at Nero Immigration Law, PLLC in Coral Gables, FL and participating in the Immigration Clinic.

PAULA MANRIQUE

Paula Manrique graduated from Emory University in May 2020 with a B.A. in Environmental Science and a minor in Sustainability Sciences. She received numerous scholarships, was a member of the Pre-Law Society and the First-Generation Low-Income Partnership, and a volunteer with LifeLine Animal Rescue. She twice traveled to Matagalpa, Nicaragua as a Brigade Leader for Global Brigades Public Health, where she worked as part of a holistic health and economic program, specializing in public health infrastructure by building sanitation stations, concrete floors, and eco-stoves to prevent spread of water-borne disease. During the summer of 2018, Paula interned for the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, FL, where she conducted ecological field research on wading birds and led nature-based educational camps for children. During the spring of 2020, she served as a Region 4 Tribal Compliance Intern for the Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta, GA, where she developed training documents to be used by tribal nations during pre-construction meetings and worked on Clean Water Act issues. In 2021, she took part in a Fulbright España English Teaching Assistantship in the Canary Islands and volunteered with Limpiaventura, a beach clean-up organization. During her 1L year at Miami Law, Paula performed pro

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bono legal research with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and served as an intern at the Everglades Law Center during her 1L summer. As a 2L, Paula is externing at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and serves on the executive board for the Miami Law Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

TIMOTHY MONDLOCH

Timothy Mondloch graduated from the University of New Mexico in May 2021 with majors in Africana Studies, Psychology, and Sociology. He received the Regents Scholarship, was a member of the Black Student Association and Black Student Union, was a founder and tutor for the Governor Bent Elementary School Tutoring Program, and held a leadership role with Brothers Leading and Cultivating Knowledge. In 2017, Timothy was elected vice president of the University of New Mexico’s chapter of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he served for two years. In 2019, he began serving as a senator for Associated Students of the University of New Mexico, working closely with colleagues to propose and debate legislation to benefit the student body. At Miami Law, Timothy is a member of the First-Generation Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Human Rights Society, and Southwest Asian and North African Law Students Association. He was elected Vice President of the Society of Bar and Gavel, National Lawyers Guild, and the Mental Health Collective. He is a Junior Editor for the University of Miami’s Race and Social Justice Law Review, a member of the University of Miami School of Law Trial Team, a Dean’s Fellow, and a student ambassador. During his 1L summer, Timothy worked at Bread for the City, a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC that provides free legal, medical, and social services to individuals facing poverty.

GABRIELA RIVERO

Gabriela Rivero graduated from Harvard University in May 2021 with a B.A. in Sociology, a secondary in Latinx Studies, a certificate in Latin American Studies, and a Spanish language certification. She was a John Harvard Scholarship recipient, studied abroad in Havana, Cuba, and completed her senior thesis entitled ¿Quiénes Somos? Who Are We? The Role of the Iberian in Latinx Identity Conceptualization and Construction. Throughout college, Gabriela volunteered with Harvard Law School’s Immigration and Refugee Clinic and also conducted research on various aspects of immigration in Canada, the United States, and Latin America as a research assistant in the Harvard Sociology Department and the Centro de Estudios de Conflicto y Cohesión Social in Chile. In 2019, Gabriela interned with Delaware Governor John Carney, and was a legal intern with the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington, DE, prior to that. At Miami Law, Gabriela is the secretary of the National Lawyers Guild and the Immigration Law Students Association and is a member of the Hispanic Law Students Association and the Cuban-American Bar Association. Gabriela was one of the 2022 recipients of the Innovative Service in the Public Interest Award for her work as part of the UM Law-ACLU of Florida Detention Database team, which tracks complaints about the state’s various immigration detention centers. During her 1L summer, she served as a HOPE Fellow and Summer Law Clerk with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, where she conducted legal research, helped draft a practice advisory on the state of domestic violence claims in asylum law, conducted outreach, and provided interpretive assistance.

MIAMI SCHOLARS

CLASS OF 2024

SOFIA SMITH

Sofia Smith graduated from the University of Michigan in April 2020 with a B.A. in International Studies and Spanish. She studied abroad in Madrid, earned University Honors Designation, and received the Romance Language and Literatures Student Achievement Award. During the summer of 2016, Sofia founded Fund the Future, an organization that works closely with elementary students to promote positive relationship-building techniques and raises money through grassroots fundraising to donate to schools in La Cruz, Costa Rica. During her junior year, she volunteered with the Monroe Youth Center, where she worked with long-term incarcerated juveniles who were suffering from trauma as a result of sexual and physical assault. She also worked as a legal intern with a private firm, assisting practitioners with hearings and trials in criminal defense matters and civil litigation. Prior to entering law school, Sofia worked as an Americorps Member through City Year, serving as a co-teacher and mentor to 10th grade students at an under-resourced school in a low-income suburb of Chicago. During her 1L summer at Miami Law, Sophia served as an intern in the Felonies Division of the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office, where she assisted attorneys during court proceedings, wrote motions and memoranda, and engaged in client interviews in the jail. She is continuing to work with the Public Defender’s Office during the fall semester of her 2L year.

GABRIELLE THOMAS

Gabrielle Thomas graduated from Davidson College in May 2021 with a B.A. in Africana Studies with a concentration in Political Economy and Political Science. She immersed herself in an interdisciplinary and international learning experience with a focus on African and African diaspora studies and issues. As a freshman, she interned at Public Advocates Law Firm in San Francisco, working with lawyers on issues such as housing, education, climate justice, and transit. That summer, Gabrielle also created the first undergraduate Africana Studies publication, The Sankofa Journal, to publish essays and articles researching Black Liberation and the African Diaspora. Gabrielle later served as a legal intern in the Bank of Jamaica’s Legal Department in her hometown of Kingston, where she furthered her knowledge and insight in international economic policies and procedures. She also attended The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London for a semester, where she studied economic development, political economy, and international law with a focus on Asian and African countries. At Davidson, she received the Wangari Maathai Award, given to a senior whose undergraduate experience reflects outstanding leadership, involvement, and improvement of the campus climate for underrepresented and historically marginalized students. At Miami Law, she is a research assistant for the Center of Ethics and Public Service, an intern for the Human Rights Clinic, Vice President of the Human Rights Society, Critical Legal Librarian for the National Lawyers Guild, and Community Outreach Chair for the Mental Health Collective. During her 1L summer, Gabrielle served as a legal intern with the Tenants’ Rights Unit at Legal Services of Greater Miami.

SEAN WERKHEISER

Sean Werkheiser graduated from Emerson College in 2012 with a B.S. in Political Communication: Politics, Leadership and Social Advocacy. He earned an M.S. in Education: Bilingual Childhood Education from Hunter College, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2016. While an undergraduate, Sean volunteered as a classroom instructor and tutor with Peace First, working with underperforming schools and high-risk students in the Boston Area. Following graduation, he served as an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator for the San Francisco Education Fund, where he recruited and trained over 350 volunteers. He then served as a Corps Member with City Year in New York, where he served as a tutor and mentor for under-served youth in a bilingual classroom setting. While pursuing his master’s degree, Sean taught full time in a high-needs school as part of the NYC Teaching Fellows Program and also taught at a dual language school for international students in Brooklyn. A Fulbright Grant recipient, he taught English to university students in Bogotá, Colombia from August 2016 to December 2018. In January 2019, he began working as an immigration paralegal for a firm in San Francisco, where he prepared filings, conducted legal research, and provided translations and interpretations. As a 1L at Miami Law, Sean completed pro bono projects to restore returning citizens’ voting rights and track reports of abuse in ICE detention centers throughout Florida. He also participated in an Alternative Fall Break project assisting recent immigrants applying for political asylum. During his 1L summer, Sean interned at the National Lawyers Guild as part of the Civil Litigation Taskforce, conducting research, writing, and depositions for class action civil rights lawsuits against the NYPD. As a 2L, he is serving as President of the Miami Law National Lawyers Guild and is a member of the ACLU of Florida’s Immigrant Detention Tracking Project.

I came to law school seeking avenues to work against societal injustice. Public interest engagement is essential to my law school experience. It helps ground me. It also helps me learn from people who are having a variety of experiences with the legal system. Public interest work helps me see value in my law school education. I chose Miami Law because of the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center and the Miami Public Interest Scholars Program.

MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2025

I chose Miami Law because of the HOPE Public Interest Resource Center and the Miami Public Interest Scholars Program. I decided to go to law school after working in international development, and I am seeking a career focused on uprooting systemic racism and oppression in the United States. Attending a law school that provided support and targeted advising for those committed to public interest was vitally important to me. As I evaluated law schools, I realized that HOPE provided unparalleled advising, guidance, and resources to students interested in pursuing a legal career in public service.

~Abigail Young, Class of 2023

I am at the University of Miami because of the Miami Public Interest Scholars program. The support I have received from the HOPE Office and the Miami Scholars program has exceeded all of my expectations. HOPE has helped me plan for my career goals, prepare for job interviews, and most importantly navigate law school in a way that I can stay authentic to myself and my interests.

~Laura Curry, Class of 2024

The Miami Public Interest Scholars Program has given me a community that I can lean on during my law school experience. My Scholars family has made my entry into law school much more enjoyable, knowing I have mentors, faculty, and fellow students who are willing to help and encourage me throughout this process. Every meeting, conversation, and exchange is a breath of fresh air as we share our experiences and passions to improve the world around us.

~Angelo Gomez, Class of 2025

MIAMI SCHOLARS

ALPEREN BUYUKBERBER

Alperen Buyukberber completed an Erasmus+ program at Jagiellonian University, Poland in 2020, and then graduated in the top of his class and received an LLB degree from a FrenchTurkish law school, Galatasaray University School of Law, in 2021. He served as an executive member of several student associations and received numerous scholarships from different institutions. After completing his legal internship within the Turkish Ministry of Justice, Alperen became an attorney in Turkey. He has served as an intern in several law offices in Istanbul and New York City including Kaya, Baker McKenzie Istanbul, and the Turkish Competition Authority. He focused on immigration law during his internships in New York City, where he prepared motions, conducted legal research, and provided translations and interpretations. He hopes to use his law degree to pursue a career in human rights/immigration advocacy.

KRYSTELL FIENCO

Krystell Fienco graduated from the University of Florida in December 2021 with a B.A in Criminology, B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Computer and Information Science. While at UF, she was active in the Minority Pre-Legal Society, serving as president during her last two years. She was involved with the Office of Academic Support, becoming a scholar and eventually an Honor Society member. She interned with various non-profit organizations including Equality Florida, Pace Center for Girls, and Eradicating the School to Prison Pipeline (E-STOPP). At E-STOPP, she assisted in the preparation and leadership of group visits to juvenile detention centers at the Turner Guildford Knight Correctional Center and the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center. During these visits, E-STOPP facilitated group talks and provided advice, acknowledgement and support. Following graduation, she worked as a legal assistant at an immigration firm, where she focused on providing translations, obtaining client information, and preparing forms for the attorney to review. Krystell hopes to use her legal degree to work in the growing technology field and protect individuals and their rights.

JANEAL FORDHAM

Janeal Fordham graduated magna cum laude from Spelman College in May 2018 with a B.A. in Political Science. While there, she was an attorney for the Spelman Mock Trial team, Education Co-Chair for the Spelman Chapter of the NAACP, and the 2018 Research Day First Place Winner in Political Science Oral Presentations. Between her freshman and sophomore years, Janeal served as an AmeriCorps Service Member with Hands On Atlanta, working primarily as a classroom instructor and volunteer coordinator. During her summers, she taught Literature and Speech & Debate, as a Breakthrough New York Teaching Fellow, and researched charter school over-regulation at The Center for Education Reform in Washington, D.C., as a UNCF-Walton K-12 Education Fellow. During her senior year, Janeal interned at The Davis Bozeman Law Firm, supporting partners with trial preparation and community engagement. Upon graduation, she served as the 2018-2021 Gallard Fellow at The Branson School, a selective, private school in the Bay Area. While at Branson, Janeal was a US History teacher, an Admissions team member, and affinity space advisor

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for the Women of Color and Black Student Union groups. As Director of Community Engagement, Janeal consistently tailored engaging programming for the school community culminating in more than 12,000 hours of community outreach and volunteer events. More recently, Janeal has been a researcher for The Canary Film Project, a documentary depicting the disproportionate Black maternal mortality rate. She hopes to use her law degree to pursue a career in community advocacy particularly at the intersections of health, literacy, data privacy, and racial justice.

ANGELO GOMEZ

Angelo Gomez graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University in May 2022 with a B.S in Communication and Political Science. He was a member of the Dean’s List and the FIU Honors College. He spent the Spring 2022 semester advocating for immigration reform in Washington DC as part of the FIU Honors College’s Hamilton Scholars cohort, alongside current FIU College of Law faculty and alumni. Shortly afterwards, he worked for the FIU Government Relations office there, spending months advocating for environmental issues, such as coastal conservation and resiliency infrastructure, and for higher education policy. Angelo also volunteered with FIU College of Law’s Immigration Clinic during their 2021 Proyecto Libertadores project, when over 800 Venezuelan individuals and families from across South Florida were assisted in filling out TPS applications and work authorization. During the summer of 2022, he continued volunteering with the clinic during their pro se asylum events on campus, assisting hundreds of individuals from across the region with their asylum claims and applications. Angelo hopes to spend his career in public service, with a focus on immigration advocacy.

LINDSEY GRAHAM

Lindsey Graham graduated with honors from the University of Missouri in May 2018 with a B.A. in International Peace Studies. She minored in Leadership and Public service, an immersive learning experience that incorporated service work with organizations such as Immigration and Refugee Services and University Hospital's Infection Control Department. She also spent a semester abroad attending the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. Following graduation, Lindsey began her public service career working as a paralegal with Legal Aid of Western Missouri, launching a pilot program to bring housing resources to families facing eviction in the Kansas City Public School District. She then served as a Peace Corps Community Health Volunteer in Ecuador, where she partnered with indigenous midwives of the Achuar and Shuar tribes to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. After her Peace Corps service ended, Lindsey began working for Fundación Pachamama, where she continued to work with Achuar and Shuar midwives. In her roles as Peace Corps Volunteer and then Technical Consultant for Fundación Pachamama, Lindsey implemented improved data-collection methods to increase the accuracy and availability of health statistics of the indigenous women of the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest. She hopes to use her law degree to continue advocating for reproductive health and birthing parents' rights.

MIAMI SCHOLARS

CAMERON HELM

Cameron Helm graduated cum laude from the University of Miami in May of 2022 with a B.B.A. in Economics and a minor in Political Science. While an undergraduate, he served as Chief Justice of the Student Government Supreme Court, was president of the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and volunteered as a teaching assistant for introductory business courses. During the Spring of 2022, Cameron received the W.T. McElrath Award in recognition of service to the Miami Herbert Business School. He spent his summers as an intern in the U.S. House of Representatives, at two Miami-based law firms, and with the Innocence Project of Florida, which works to find and free the innocent and wrongly incarcerated in Florida prisons. Cameron hopes to use his law degree to pursue a career in civil rights or international human rights.

SIDDHARTH KUMAR

Siddharth Kumar graduated from the University of Florida in 2019 with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Economics. He also earned an M.S. in Management from UF in 2021. While there, Siddharth volunteered with medically-underserved communities including hospice and assisted living centers. His passion for improving the quality of care in these communities led him to become a member of Gators for Haven Hospice, an organization focused on providing high-quality care for hospice patients. He served as treasurer for one year and later became president for two years. He was also a founding member of J.O.Y. (Just Older Youth) at UF, through which residents of assisted living centers had the opportunity to stay active and interact with college students. Siddharth was involved in honor societies through which he helped to spread awareness of many medically-related social issues such as LGBTQ, disability, and mental illness rights and also volunteered at underserved public schools in Gainesville. He hopes to pursue a career in health care law.

ADDIEL PÉREZ

Addiel Pérez graduated magna cum laude from Rollins College in May 2022 with an A.B. in Political Science. While there, he conducted novel research with the political science faculty focused on political psychology, race politics, and public opinion. He presented his working paper "Public Perceptions of the Capitol Riot: A List Experiment" at the 2021 American Political Science Association Annual Conference & Exhibition and continues to work on publication. His research showcased how support for the Capitol riot is best determined by whites' anxiety about their declining racial advantage coupled with a disregard for democratic principles. While at Rollins, Addiel also engaged in service projects, including a Spring 2022 volunteer project at the Rosebud Indigenous Reservation in South Dakota through Global Volunteers. At the invitation of the Rosebud community, the program conducted work projects in crucial areas of great need while focusing on indigenous rights. Addiel also served as a student leader in a Summer 2022 field study program in Tanzania through the organization Better Lives, where he focused on sustainable development in rural and disadvantaged communities. His work in Tanzania fed off a leadership immersion through the organization Global Livingston Institute (GLI) in Uganda and Rwanda

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in January of 2020, where he built relationships with stakeholders and leaders in the local communities focused on economic and sustainable development. Addiel also volunteered at Shepherd's Hope, a non-profit health organization providing essential services to the uninsured and underinsured, and served as an intern in the US Senate. He hopes to use his law degree to continue his advocacy for economic, social, and environmental justice.

DILLON RICHARDS

Dillon Richards graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia in the fall of 2016 with a B.A. in Journalism, majoring in Digital and Broadcast Journalism. He also graduated with a minor in Spanish and spent a summer studying abroad in Seville, Spain. For five years before law school, Dillon worked as a television journalist in Johnstown, PA, Oklahoma City, OK, and West Palm Beach, FL. His main beats were the courts and politics, but his experience covering breaking news—often interviewing people during or about their worst moments—gave him a passion for helping others navigate the most difficult times in their lives. His interest in the law was sparked while covering criminal jury trials. He got to watch—and interview—countless lawyers who advocated on behalf of their clients. Later, as a reporter in Oklahoma, he closely covered capital punishment as that state won a long-running legal battle to re-start its execution program. He served as a media witness for two executions, providing a firsthand account for the public. Dillon also worked as the Chief Capitol Reporter for the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City, covering the Governor and the state legislature. He covered the legislative process from drafting laws in committee rooms, to debate and votes on the floor, to courtroom legal challenges. He also closely covered Oklahoma’s response to the COVID pandemic (and the many legal battles that followed). Dillon hopes to use his law degree to litigate either First Amendment issues or criminal defense.

ALEXANDRA SANTAMARIA

Alexandra Santamaria received her B.A. degree in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA in 2018. She submitted a thesis titled, "Be not a philosopher, but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man: A Resolution of Human Epistemology." Upon graduation, she began working as an administrative legal assistant at a private immigration law firm in Denver, CO that focused on humanitarian cases. During her time there, she also began volunteering at legal and immigrant nonprofit initiatives, where she gained experience serving and interacting with vulnerable populations. She served as a Spanish interpreter at free legal clinics and volunteered at Casa de Paz, an organization that provided community and fellowship to detained immigrants in Aurora, CO. She then moved back to her native city of Houston to work as a legal assistant for Justice For All Immigrants (JFAI), where she focused on grants that provided direct representation to immigrants in detention facilities who sought immigration bonds, paroles, asylum, and cancellation of removals. She supported several grants, including the Deportation Defense Houston Collaborative, the Church World Service Asylum Project, and Harris County’s Immigrant Legal Services Fund. She was also awarded a grant from the National Justice for Our Neighbors to work on the Caminamos Juntos Asylum Seeker Project at the border in Nogales, Mexico that helped asylum seeker families be paroled into the United States under a special Title 42 abeyance. Alexandra looks forward to exploring career paths in criminal law, immigration law, and international human rights law.

MIAMI

DIEGO TRONCOSO

Diego Troncoso is a native of the Dominican Republic and graduated from the University of Central Florida in May 2021 with a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Advertising and Public Relations. At UCF, he served the student body in a variety of leadership positions across campus. As a student senator, he created initiatives focused on student homelessness, bringing more resources to the university’s free food pantry, and lobbying at the state level for the university’s legislative priorities.

Diego also served as the university’s Academic Affairs Coordinator and Scholarship Chairman, where he created scholarships for diverse students, single parents, veterans, community leaders, and other student groups amounting to $300,000 in scholarship funds. He also was appointed to various university committees, where he made ongoing strides to make UCF a more equitable, inclusive, and accessible institution. Most recently, Diego volunteered at the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, where he worked collaboratively with a housing attorney to serve members of the community who required legal assistance. Diego hopes to use his law degree to address issues in immigration, education, and racial justice while reinvesting resources into his local community.

NICOLE VAHLKAMP

Nicole Vahlkamp graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland Honors Program with a B.A. in Government & Politics and Economics. Led by her passion for other cultures and interest in economics, Nicole went on to pursue her Master of Business Administration in Tel Aviv, Israel, graduating from Bar Ilan University with concentrations in International Business and Finance. After working for Procter & Gamble in Israel for a number of years, Nicole returned to the United States, and to her hometown of Chicago, where she graduated from the University of Chicago in May 2011 with her Master’s in Public Policy. Nicole has worked for the Government Accountability Office, researching and auditing processes within the Department of Defense, and with various non-profit organizations as an independent consultant. During the summer of 2022, she interned at the Office of the State Attorney in Florida’s 20th District in Charlotte County, where she assisted with trial research, preparation, and deposition summaries. Nicole hopes to use her law degree to serve the public at the State Attorney’s Office and to eventually become a judge or hold other public office.

CHRISTINA VELAZQUEZ

Christina Velazquez graduated summa cum laude from Florida International University in 2021 with dual B.A.s in Political Science and Women's & Gender Studies, a minor in Public Policy & Service, and a certificate in Pre-Law Skills. She received the College of Arts Sciences & Education Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Medal all three years, the Blue & Gold Athletics Coach's Award, and graduated with commencement honors as a Real Triumphs Graduate. While at FIU, she was a Division I student-athlete on the Women's Soccer Team, served on the Student-Athlete Leadership Council, contributed as a Staff Writer to HerCampus Magazine, and led as President & Re-Founder of

MIAMI SCHOLARS CLASS OF 2025

Planned Parenthood Generation Action. She also worked as a Peer Educator with the FIU Victim Empowerment Program, an intern with LatinasRepresent, a Teaching Assistant with the FIU Center for Women's and Gender Studies, and Research Assistant with the FIU Metropolitan Center. After graduation, Christina moved to Chicago to join the Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, a membership-based organization that educates, organizes, and advocates on behalf of gender-based violence survivors and service providers. During her time as a Policy Associate at the Network, Christina contributed to and led advocacy efforts including historic budget and legislative victories at the city and state levels. She serves as Social Coordinator of the National Storytellers of Planned Parenthood and volunteers as a family planning clinic escort. Christina hopes to use her law degree to advance gender justice as an advocate for gender-based violence survivors.

OLIVIA ZUKOWSKI

Olivia Zukowski graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami in May 2021 with a B.A. in Ecosystem Science and Policy and Political Science and a minor in French. She was inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society and was named the top graduate in the political science department in 2021. She received her Master of Public Administration from the University of Miami in May 2022. Olivia held leadership roles in a variety of student organizations including serving as the Graduate Student Association MPA/ MPP program senator, a teaching assistant for the Political Science department, a member of the UOutreach committee of Student Government, and a member of several environmental organizations on campus. During her senior year, Olivia began an internship at the Human Impacts Institute (HII) based in Brooklyn, NY, focusing on NGO Development. She was able to meld together her passions for environmental education and nonprofit organizational management as she took on this role. While there, she wrote technical funding proposals in an effort to further HII’s mission towards environmental education and stewardship through the arts and social justice. She communicated with members of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in order to apply for $100,000 in funding for the organization, and she was able to learn more about the intersection of government, business, and the environment. Olivia created the structure for several programs that would allow children and adults to better understand the environment and community mobilization. Olivia hopes to use her degree to explore both environmental and administrative law.

MIAMI

The Miami Scholars Program was the deciding factor in my choosing to attend Miami Law. Not only did it allow me to further cultivate the career I wanted, but it also carved out a community for me within law school. The program served as a constant (and refreshing) reminder that a public interest legal career can truly take any shape. The HOPE Office was always a source of guidance and reassurance, for which I am eternally grateful.

~Sawyeh Esmaili, JD ’17 Senior Counsel, Reproductive Rights & Health National Women's Law Center Washington, DC

The Miami Scholars Program gave me a base of support, programs, mentoring, and encouragement in an environment that does not always emphasize doing public interest work. I could not imagine law school being as fulfilling and even enjoyable without this wonderful cohort of students, staff, and agents for change

~Thomas Voracek, JD ’19 Staff Attorney Legal Services of North Florida Quincy, FL

The Miami Scholars Program is the reason that I chose to attend the University of Miami School of Law, and I'm very happy that I did. The support and encouragement that I received enabled me to be active in the community while maintaining high academic standards. It's an exceptional thing when you're surrounded by a group of people similar to you in their passion for public service, but with an incredible amount of diversity of life experience.

~Madeline Seales, JD ’20

Law Offices of the Los Angeles County Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA

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