Public Interest Students Awarded Summer Scholarships

Notre Dame’s Women’s Legal Forum and Public Interest Law Forum recently awarded 10 rising 2L and 3L students with summer scholarships to support their work in public interest law.

“We’re proud to be able to offer summer scholarships to well-deserving candidates,” said Kaitlin Abrams, 2015-16 president of WLF. “These recipients were selected because of their outstanding contributions to WLF, commitment to public interest work, and their demonstrated dedication to advancing the WLF mission. WLF is delighted to be able to honor the passion and hard-work of these individuals as they continue to accomplish great things over the summer.”

Taking the top prize of $1,100 for the WLF scholarship is rising 2L, Vicky Rusanova. Rusanova will spend the summer in Chicago working for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Office of the Chief Counsel.

Shelby Compton, 1L, Shelby Dolezal, 2L, Christine Fimognari, 1L, and Sarah Wolfson, 2L, will receive $1,000 scholarships. Compton will work for Judge Susan Bryant-Dason at the Los Angeles Superior Court exploring a wide variety of cases and practice areas. Dolezal will spend time in New York assisting in claims of employment discrimination for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fimognari will work in the legal department for the City of Boston. She will be working for the city’s civil defense litigation department and helping to represent the city of Boston by advising the mayor and other city officials. Wolfson will hone her trial preparation skills at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. She will also participate in a mock suppression hearing at the end of the summer.

Katie Hickey, 1L, Rebecca Greene, 1L, and Hope Tone, 1L, will receive $500 scholarships. Hickey will be working for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia this summer. She looks forward to honing her research and writing skills this summer in order to better serve as an advocate for nonprofit organizations in her career. Greene will work for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and Tone will work as a Public Interest Law Initiative intern for the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the General Counsel in Chicago.

Taylre Janak, 1L, and Carlene Miller, 2L, will receive $250 scholarships. Janak will spend the summer working for the National Association for Attorneys General in Washington, D.C. Miller will work in New Mexico for the Albuquerque Public Defender’s Office.

Tone and Fimognari were also the recipients of $500 scholarships award by PILF.

WLF’s mission is to promote discussion and understanding of legal issues affecting women and of issues affecting women lawyers and their colleagues. PILF’s purpose is to promote awareness of and interest in public interest law among NDLS students, faculty and administration.