Frost Brown Todd (FBT) selected an impressive group of students currently using their personal experiences to improve their community as the 2018 class of Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship winners. The yearly scholarship aims to support deserving students who represent underserved populations. For more information, visit FBT’s Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship.
“We received a remarkable number of qualified applications from students studying at a variety of law schools this year,” said FBT Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship Committee chair Justin Fowles. “We were very humbled by the outstanding efforts all of the applicants made to support diversity in their communities. We expect to see great things from this class as they enter their legal careers and are proud to be able to support the education of those selected to receive our award.”
“At such a particularly challenging time for law students, we are happy to lend a helping hand to those who have helped others,” explained FBT Director of Diversity and Inclusion Kim Amrine. “The Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship allows us to become acquainted with some of the great work that local law students do in their communities. One of my favorite parts of our diversity and inclusion program is that we have been able to build outstanding relationships over the years with such amazing law students.”
This year’s recipients include students from Penn State Law School (University Park), Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama, Indiana University Maurer School of Law (Bloomington) and Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law. They include:
Shifa Abuzaid attends Penn State Law School (University Park) where she is the co-founder and vice president of the Muslim Legal Society. Abuzaid graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston with a degree in Political Science. Prior to law school, Abuzaid visited schools on a speaking tour to talk about her experiences as an American-Muslim and her story was featured by National Geographic and Fusion. She is the founder and operator of Heyjabi, a project to circulate scarves among homeless, refugee, and disadvantaged women in need while promoting charitable giving. She serves as the steering committee coordinator for the Palestine’s Children’s Relief Fund, which provides funding to Palestinian children living in Houston who need life-saving medical care and surgeries. After law school, Abuziad hopes to use her J.D. to fight for the rights of marginalized groups.
David Adeleye studies at Indiana University Maurer School of Law (Bloomington) where he is a member of the American Constitution Society and coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Adeleye graduated with distinction from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. Prior to law school, Adeleye served in appointed roles for the Department of Homeland Security and the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. He has volunteered as a reading mentor for Everybody Wins! DC and for the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper Mentoring Initiative. After law school, Adeleye hopes to work in corporate law while maintaining his commitment to public service.
Alice Gyamfi studies at Penn State Law School (University Park) where she is a Board Member-at-Large for the National Black Law Students Organization. Gyamfi is a graduate of Penn State University where she obtained degrees in International Politics, International Relations, and African Studies. She also received a post baccalaureate degree in Criminology from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, where she published a thesis on the study of critical migration populations and their detention. Prior to law school, Gyamfi served as CAO for a non-profit called The Bright Foundation, which provides education funding for girls in rural villages in Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria and worked as a policy analyst for President Barack Obama specializing in African affairs. After law school, Gyamfi hopes to practice international commercial arbitration as an arbitrator and international trade attorney.
Jorge Solis studies at the Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama where he is the managing editor of the Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review, the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board Co-Chair and member of the Labor and Employment Competition Team, and a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Solis’s law review article, Detained Without Relief, is scheduled to be published in this year’s Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review. He serves on the University of Alabama Faculty’s Student Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is very involved in his church and with religious freedom pro bono work. Solis graduated from Troy University, where he received a B.S. in Political Science. After graduation, Solis intends to become a civil litigator in Birmingham, Alabama.
Catherine Tabor studies at the Culverhouse Jr. School of Law at The University of Alabama where she is a junior editor on the Law and Psychology Review, a team leader and student advocate for the International Refugee Assistance Project, pro-bono chair for the Public Interest Student Board, and vice president of Well-Balanced: A Mental Health and Wellness Organization. She is a graduate of Auburn University where she obtained degrees in English Literature and German and was a Fulbright U.S. Student in Austria, where she worked in a group home for children with disabilities. Prior to law school, she helped launch the Horseshoe Farms mentoring program, a pilot project designed to help middle school students of minority backgrounds, through Auburn’s Honors College, and volunteered to help people with disabilities at Special Equestrians where they offer therapeutic riding. After law school, Tabor hopes to practice at a law firm that is known for its mission to enhance diversity in the legal field and innovation in the legal market.
Stephanie Williams, a Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law student, serves as the executive editor of the Northern Kentucky Law Review, is the Secretary of the Black Law Students Association, and is a legal intern with the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. Her law review article, The Haves and the Have Nots: Wealth-Based Expectations of Privacy in the Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence, is set to be published in the school’s law review. She has also conducted an independent research project examining the underrepresentation of racial minorities in clinical research and has published and presented on the topic. Williams graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BS and MS in Criminal Justice and is very active in her community. She has volunteered with the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Mentoring Program, UC Alumni Mentoring Program, Great Parks of Hamilton County, Winton Woods High School, and the Adopt-A-Class Foundation. After law school, Williams hopes to use her law degree to improve the lives of racial minorities in the criminal justice and health systems through evidence-based policies.