Third-year ND Law School students honored for public interest work at Champions for Justice Ceremony

Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame, took a deep interest in how Notre Dame Law School would shape future generations of lawyers. He once said that to “realize that competence in the law without compassion leads the lawyer to use the law for other purposes than the works of justice, blinds him to the sad plight of persons who suffer injustice for want of a lawyer champion.”

On April 22, 2025, Notre Dame Law School hosted the annual Champions for Justice ceremony, honoring third-year law students who have answered Father Hesburgh’s call to practice law in the pursuit of justice.

The event celebrated recipients of the Law School’s Thomas L. Shaffer Public Interest Fellowship; students committed to the Judge Advocate General Corps; the winner of the Tia B. Paulette and Erica S. Gustin Award, given for dedication to the Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic; and students recognized as Champions for Justice. All of these students have made significant and impactful contributions to public service during their time at Notre Dame Law School. 

Thomas L. Shaffer Public Interest Fellowship

Gwendolyn Loop and Noah Austin were announced as the recipients of the 2025 Thomas L. Shaffer Public Interest Fellowship. The fellowship will support their work advancing justice for underserved communities through two-year placements with nonprofit organizations dedicated to public interest legal service.

Gwendolyn will work to expand access to humanitarian visas for clients as an immigration attorney at the Catholic Multicultural Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Noah will join the Legal Aid of Western Michigan where he will work to protect tenants’ legal rights. Read more about the Shaffer Fellows here.

Judge Advocate General Corps (JAG Corps)

Four students were recognized as Judge Advocate General Corps recipients. The Judge Advocate General’s Corps is the legal branch of the U.S. military, where judge advocates serve as licensed attorneys handling matters such as military justice, administrative law, and international law across all service branches.

The Notre Dame Law students who have committed to serve in the JAG Corps are:

• Clifford Garfield – United States Army

• Matthew Gruszka – United States Army

• Pablo Martinez – United States Army

• Timothy Wieckowski – United States Army

Tia Paulette and Erika Gustin Award

The Tia Paulette and Erika Gustin Award is given annually to graduating law students who have demonstrated a personal and professional commitment to criminal justice and public interest while furthering the goals of the Exoneration Justice Clinic and Notre Dame Exoneration Project student group.

Named after Notre Dame Law alumnae Tia Paulette ’18 J.D. and Erika Gustin ’19 J.D., the award honors their efforts to address the problem of wrongful convictions while they were students at Notre Dame. They helped found the Notre Dame Exoneration Project student group, which became the foundation for the Wrongful Conviction Externship, and ultimately led to the establishment of the Exoneration Justice Clinic in 2020.

Megan Sarsfield is the recipient of this year’s Tia Paulette and Erika Gustin Award for her strong commitment to criminal justice and public interest work. At the Exoneration Justice Clinic, she has shown exceptional leadership, professionalism, and dedication to the fight against wrongful convictions. This year she took on increasing responsibility when she advocated directly to a prosecutor for the vacatur of a wrongful conviction and conducted an in-court examination of the true perpetrator in a 28-year-old case. After graduation, Megan will join the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor.

Champions for Justice

Twenty-nine third-year law students were recognized as Champions for Justice in honor of their extraordinary commitment to public service. These students answered Father Hesburgh’s call to be Champions for Justice by dedicating themselves to public interest work through summer internships, participation in the Law School’s clinics and externships, and other service-oriented experiences. They have exemplified his vision through a through a lasting dedication to serving others, meeting a high threshold of involvement in public interest work.

• Alicia Armstrong

• Regan Beyers

  

• McKenzie Brummond

• Margot Calmar

• Alesondra Cruz

• Moira Eaton

• Holly Fulbright

• Clifford Garfield

• Drew Garden

• Matthew Gruszka

• Mark Hillman

  

• Brianna Ivy

• Maria Lake

• Gwendolyn Loop

• Hadiah Mabry

• Connor McCumber

• Adam Miller

• Nicolas Munsen

• Molly Nalamasu

• Adem Osmani

  

• Chase Opperman

• Shideya Parrilla

• Ioannis Pitcock

• Elizabeth Raimond

• Megan Sarsfield

• Lauryn Sparger

• Zachary Townsell

• Rohan Vadiya

• Timothy Wieckowski

Associate Dean for Experiential Learning Professor Robert Jones

At this year’s Champions for Justice event, the Law School honored Professor Robert Jones, Associate Dean for Experiential Programs and Clinical Professor of Law, who will retire this year. Professor Jones joined the Law School in 2002 and served as director of the Notre Dame Legal Aid Clinic from 2002 to 2012. In 2012, he was appointed Associate Dean for Experiential Programs.

Over the course of his tenure, Professor Jones has mentored and taught hundreds of students, and has overseen the creation and development of the Law School’s robust array of experiential learning opportunities—including several externships and clinics, as well as the popular, immersive GALILEE program.