Women Law Students
The WLAM Foundation's primary educational project is to fund scholarships for outstanding women law students at each of Michigan's law schools.
Each spring, the Foundation makes financial awards to women law students on the basis of their demonstrated leadership capabilities, community service in such areas as family law, child advocacy or domestic violence, commitment to diversity, and potential for advancing the position of women in society. Candidates for the award may be full or part-time students at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Michigan State University Detroit College of Law, Wayne State University Law School, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, or University of Michigan Law School. The amount awarded annually has grown substantially from $500 given to each of five students in 1998; in 2002, the WLAM Foundation awarded $1,500 to each of nine students, and $2,500 to a tenth student. The tenth student, attending the University of Detroit Mercy Law School, received a special awarded funded entirely by the Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund. In 2004, the WLAM Foundation awarded to 15 law students a record total of $42,500. The substantial increase in award money available was due to generous contributions by the Ford Motor Company Fund, Howard & Howard Community Reinvestment Fund, General Motors Legal Staff, and individuals like Elizabeth Gleicher. Several regional chapters of the WLAM also support the WLAM Foundation, particularly the Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Regions.
Winners of the 2011 Awards are:
Coryelle Elaine Christie, WLAMF/GM Scholar at Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Directly after finishing her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, Coryelle began attending Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Coryelle volunteered at Common Ground Legal Aid Clinic and interned for Justice Marilyn Kelly of the Michigan Supreme Court. Currently, Coryelle is a student attorney at the Family Law Assistance Project, which is a pro bono legal clinic which helps low-income Oakland County residents with family law matters. She has also served as treasurer for Cooley’s chapter of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and was an associate editor for the Thomas M. Cooley Law Review. Coryelle hopes to practice family law after graduation.
Amanda Clark, WLAMF/GM Scholar at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
After graduating from SUNY University at Buffalo, Amanda moved to Detroit to attend law school at UDM. After her first year, Amanda mentored students as a Tutorial Assistant for the School of Law’s legal research and writing program. She also became a junior member of the University of Detroit Mercy Law Review and was elected Executive Secretary of the Student Bar Association (“SBA.”) After Amanda’s second year, she enrolled in the Veterans Law Clinic and became an avid participant in Project SALUTE, the Clinic’s national pro bono project. Currently, Amanda is serving her second term as Executive Secretary of the SBA, is a published author and a Title Editor of the Law Review, and continues to assist underprivileged veterans through participation in the Veterans Law Clinic. Upon graduation, Amanda will be moving to the Washington D.C. area to begin her Federal Clerkship.
Melissa Forshey, WLAMF/GM Scholar at Michigan State University College of Law
Melissa graduated from Michigan State University in 2008 and received three bachelor’s degrees in Criminal Justice, Political Science, and Psychology. Melissa continued her legal studies at Michigan State University College of Law, where she has served as the Vice President of the Student Bar Association, President of the Labor & Employment Law Association, Editor-in-Chief of the student-run newspaper, and is the Administrative Editor of the Journal of Medicine and Law. Melissa has also participated in the law college’s Alternative Spring Break Tax Clinic for three years and co-organized the program in 2010. After clerking for the National Labor Relations Board and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, Melissa intends to remain in Washington, D.C. to practice labor or employment law after graduation in May 2011.
Victoria Hatch, WLAMF Scholar at Michigan State University College of Law
Victoria has worked as a freelance indexer and editor, a professional speaker, and a high school teacher. In addition, she has been involved in various service opportunities such as: serving as a cultural liaison to indigenous tribes in Panama; assisting in community service organizations in Warsaw, Poland; serving on the Board of Directors for an urban Indian center; and starting a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Native American youth. She plans to complete a certificate in Indigenous Law and an emphasis in Intellectual Property Law, and is interested in working on issues related to the rights of Indigenous women and children and cultural sovereignty.
Jane Khodarkovsky, WLAMF Scholar at University of Michigan Law School
After graduating summa cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, Jane decided to attend the University of Michigan Law School to pursue a public interest law career. Jane worked as an extern in fall 2010 with the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons with the U.S. Department of State, where she helped draft model anti-trafficking legislation for countries around the world including, Bangladesh and Malaysia. She works in the Michigan Law School’s Human Trafficking Clinic, representing victims of human trafficking. She has also served as an Executive Editor and Film/Speaker Series Chair for the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, the National and Faculty Liaison for the American Constitution Society, and Admissions and Mentorship Chair for the Women Law Student Association. Jane plans to work on issues of human trafficking after graduation.
Katie Kohls, Kimberly M. Cahill Scholar at University of Michigan Law School
Katie became involved with women’s issues as an undergrad at Michigan State University. When she was 20, she volunteered at Eve’s House, a local domestic violence shelter. At the University of Michigan Law School, she participates in the Family Law Project, an organization which is dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence with any legal issues they encounter. Katie is also involved with Take Back the Night, an organization dedicated to promoting awareness of sexual violence against women with the goal of ending sexual violence. She is heading up the planning for an end-of-the-year rally for the University of Michigan. Throughout law school at Michigan, Katie has worked at the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office, and her ultimate career goal is to become a Prosecutor.
Samantha Orvis, Dickinson Wright Women’s Network Scholar at Wayne State University Law School
After receiving her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan – Flint, Samantha moved to Detroit to begin her legal education at Wayne State University Law School. She currently serves as the American Bar Association Representative for the Student Bar Association Board of Governors and the Commissioner of the Student Trial Advocacy Program. Samantha has pursued a path that will allow her to combine her passion for environmental advocacy with her legal education. She has worked for the law school’s Environmental Law Clinic and currently serves as an intern at the Sierra Club’s Great Lakes Office. Samantha hopes to secure a legal position that will allow her to promote environmental justice and be a continued advocate for protection of the earth’s natural resources.
Sarah Pixler, WLAMF Scholar at Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Sarah graduated in December, 2008, from Arizona State University with a degree in Communication and minor in Spanish, and then had the privilege of serving as a human rights intern at the Washington, DC headquarters of the International Justice Mission. Since beginning her studies at Cooley in Grand Rapids, she has been involved in the professionalism program, Cooley Volunteer Corps, and the non-profit incorporation project as well as with anti-trafficking organizations in the community. Fluent in Spanish, Sarah has served as a bilingual tutor for the Grand Rapids Public Schools and is currently a Kids Hope USA mentor. During the summer of 2011, she will work as an extern in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office in her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. She hopes to pursue a clerkship after graduation in May 2012 with the ultimate goal of working to seek justice in the fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
Erika Riggs, WLAMF/GM Scholar at Wayne State University Law School
During her undergraduate studies, Erika became a certified kick-boxing instructor, teaching self-defense classes to under-served populations, such as abused women and children and people with disabilities. This experience inspired her to attend law school and continue serving her community. After her first year of law school, she interned at Lakeshore Legal Aid, assisting survivors of domestic violence. During her second and third years, Erika helped asylum-seekers with their immigration cases as a student attorney at the WSU Asylum & Immigration Clinic. She has served the Wayne Law community as the VP of the Hispanic Law Student Association, co-founder of the '313 Project,' Senior Note and Comment Editor of the Wayne Law Review, and a Property Law Teaching Assistant; she is also a recent recipient of the "Distinguished Young Leaders" award by the Engineering Society of Detroit for her work in revitalizing Detroit. After graduation this May, Erika plans to pursue a career in disability, immigration or family law.
Cheryl Wood, WLAMF Scholar at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
After obtaining her BBA in Sports Management from Northwood University, Cheryll worked for a non-profit organization, focusing on women’s leadership and teaching women tools to help them advance in business and life. Cheryll was a volunteer for Special Olympics and helped raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Currently, Cheryll is a member of the Dual JD program at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School and will obtain both an American and Canadian law degree upon graduation. Throughout law school Cheryll has been a mentor for incoming students as well as a volunteer at both Community Legal Aid and the Wayne Mediation Center. She participated in varsity sports (golf and curling), has been the SBA Dual JD treasurer and has been involved in various clubs and committees. After graduating in May 2011, Cheryll will be completing a judicial clerkship with the goal of focusing on litigation.