Chancellor’s Scholars - First Year Scholars
Jacob Allen
Jacob Allen, a Denver native, is thrilled to be back in his hometown to begin his legal career. Jacob graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he became a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society and earned a degree in Political Science. While a student at the University of Colorado, Jacob chaired the community service program of his fraternity as well as volunteering in local elementary schools as a mentor and reading tutor. During the summer between his sophomore and junior years, Jacob interned with a juvenile magistrate in Boulder County, where he was able to assist the magistrate in researching his dependency and neglect docket. While studying abroad at the London School of Economics, Jacob also had the opportunity to volunteer in a London primary school assisting a kindergarten teacher with her classroom and students.
After graduation, Jacob moved to Washington, DC to serve as an AmeriCorps volunteer. In Washington, Jacob participated in the AmeriCorps program, Avodah, which is a Jewish service corps dedicated to combining social justice values with Judaism. As part of Avodah, Jacob worked at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter High School (“TMA”) in SE Washington. TMA is a charter high school founded by former Georgetown Law School students as the first law themed charter school in the United States. At TMA, Jacob worked in the Programs Department, where he was involved with the mentoring, tutoring, athletics, and street law programs. After finishing his year as an AmeriCorps volunteer, Jacob moved back to Denver.
Upon his return to Denver, he began working at the Children’s Hospital, where he worked as a Mental Health Counselor in the child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric units. As a Mental Health Counselor, Jacob worked with children and adolescents in psychiatric crises by facilitating therapeutic groups and individual sessions. During the past two years, Jacob has conducted graduate work in child and school psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Jacob looks forward to using his legal education as a tool to empower underserved populations.
Susan Damon
At the heart of Susan Damon’s desire to obtain a law degree is the need to bring a voice and advocacy to those people who cannot stand up for themselves. Susan’s faith in the authority of the Word of God and commitment to serve the Lord Jesus Christ throughout her life, is the underlying foundation from which her service stems. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.” Matthew 25:40 The King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Susan is currently serving on the board of directors of a crisis pregnancy center in Byers, Colorado. She was the Director from 2005-2007 and the Executive Director from 2007-2009. This ministry brings the gospel of Christ to the women in that area. In a very practical manner, the center also offers to the families: diapers, wipes, car seats, cribs, maternity clothing, and children’s clothing from newborn through 4T, in addition to pre-natal classes, parenting classes, GED preparation, and vocational counseling; all free of charge. The center also helps with emergency housing, emergency fuel expenses, and networks throughout the community to assist people whatever the need. The center is currently constructing a 2-story addition which is funded by a grant that Susan wrote in 2008.
Susan cared for her mother, after her mother suffered a debilitating brain injury from 1999 to 2008. It literally took 6 months and 1,000 hours on the telephone for Susan to advocate for her mother’s Social Security Disability benefits. Susan dealt with the creditors that demanded payment and threatened to evict her mother from her home. There were disability policies that her mother had paid handsomely for that initially refused to pay. It become very apparent to Susan that other disabled people, without families to care for them were losing benefits entitled to them.
From 1988 to 1999 Susan worked as a police officer in the Denver area. Susan wanted to be the person called upon when people had nowhere else to turn. Susan’s law enforcement career covered the scope of crime prevention and community education, to investigations, undercover in vice and narcotics, and patrol. One example of the service that Susan rendered was on a domestic violence call. The mother of four had been brutally beaten by her boyfriend. He went to jail, she went to the hospital and the four children stayed with friends until the mother could return home. As Susan was at the home, the landlord came to evict the family. The eviction was legally pursuing and Susan stood by as the landlord carried out all of the family’s meager possessions and placed them in the street. Susan was told by her Sergeant that this was a civil matter and not her concern. Susan was able to arrange a public storage unit and movers to come and transport the family’s possessions to storage. Susan hopes through this opportunity afforded by the Chancellor’s Scholarship to be able to again assist people at their most vulnerable time as an attorney. She is currently signed up to volunteer at the Salvation Army Legal Aid Clinic in Denver.
Susan has spent her life committed to serving others. She believes that service first begins in the home caring for her family. Her husband, children and grandchildren remain her first priority. Susan’s desire is to pass on to her children and grandchildren the legacy of her faith in God and the calling to pour out one’s life in service to God through serving the poor and needy in your own community.
Brianna Evans
A native of the Pacific Northwest, Brianna grew up in Bellingham, WA. Moving to the east coast for college, she graduated from Bucknell University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics. While she had spent time volunteering with community organizations in high school and college, it was not until she spent a year abroad that she knew that social justice work would be a driving force in her future career. During a semester in Chile, she worked with survivors of and families of those who had been abused or killed as a result of the nation’s violent dictatorship. This exposure to extreme human rights abuse profoundly impacted her decision to pursue social justice work. During a semester at Cambridge University, she studied development economics seeking to better understand how certain social and political environments – like the one she witnessed in Chile – influence individuals’ access to certain rights, especially poor and marginalized groups.
Wanting to use her education to do her part to lessen social injustice, she spent summers between college working for Experience International, a nonprofit that provides projects in international development, and training in agricultural extension and education for individuals from around the world. After graduating from Bucknell, she moved to San Francisco to work at Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), a small transnational nonprofit, as a grant writer. She was passionate about HIP’s mission to increase philanthropic resources for underprivileged Latino communities and excited to have found a way to use her education to create social justice. While at HIP, she wrote grants that facilitated the donation of millions of dollars for organizations that provide access to health care for low-income families, know-your-rights trainings to immigrant farm workers and bilingual tutoring to struggling students, as examples. She worked on a campaign to protect the rights of undocumented migrant children through which she learned that many of these children were reunited with their families because of the efforts of U.S. attorneys. It was then that she knew that law school would be the next step on her path to continue to advance social justice. Currently living in Denver, she is thrilled to be starting her law career at the University of Denver. Sometime in the near future, she hopes to return to Chile to help bring justice to the families she met years ago.
Cleveland Fairchild
Cleveland Fairchild was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he graduated from Appalachian State University with highest honors in Political Science. While in college, Cleveland co-directed the Alternative Spring Break Program of the school, as it grew to be the second largest such program in the country. He supervised twenty volunteer trips, and twice led trips to the J.C. Nalle Community School in Southeast Washington, D.C. Cleveland also participated on the board of the local chapter of Men Against Rape, and led sexual assault prevention seminars to school, fraternity, and community groups for three years.
After graduation, Cleveland was offered a position as a Rural Health Volunteer with Peace Corps Ecuador. He spent just over two years in the remote cloud forests of the Bolívar Province. In Ecuador, Cleveland led the youth radio program “Zona Juveníl,” in which local teenagers addressed the topics most important to them for an hour each week. He worked with Plan International to completely redesign the sexual and reproductive health portion of the local school system’s curriculum. Cleveland led many health and fumigation campaigns in conjunction with the local health center, addressing malaria, dengue, and typhoid fever. He also participated in many seminars and education campaigns around Ecuador as a member of the volunteer led anti-trafficking in persons working group. Cleveland even briefly coached a youth swim team, which practiced in the town’s river, that was, until the arrival of an unseasonably dry spell.
Before coming to law school, Cleveland taught English as a second language in Arlington, Virginia. He is excited to be gaining valuable tools to continue to work in the areas of immigration, children’s rights, and human rights.
Shannon Hickman
Shannon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2002 with a major in psychology and a double minor is forensics and juvenile justice. Shannon began working in the public service field immediately after graduating. She worked for one year organizing events for adults and children with developmental disabilities and coaching special Olympic sports. She then went to graduate school for psychology. After completing the coursework for graduate school, Shannon returned to the public service field. She coordinated an apartment program and a group home for adults with developmental disabilities, worked as a rehabilitation counselor for people who had been seriously injured by others and were seeking damages, and worked as a case manager for individuals involved in physical rehabilitation after medical complications.
Shannon’s interest has always been in protecting those who cannot protect themselves and her career ambition was realized when she got a job at Arapahoe County Department of Human Services in August 2008. She worked as a caseworker protecting abused and neglected children. Shannon specialized in working with families who had a developmentally disabled parent or child. Shannon decided to go to law school to become a guardian ad litem and continue working to protect abused and neglected children.
Shannon has been living in Colorado for 6 years. She spends most of her non-working/studying time playing with her three children. In her spare time, which is rare, Shannon enjoys playing tennis, volleyball, and pool.
Yashreeka Huq
Yashreeka Huq is a South Dakota girl at heart, born and raised in Rapid City, but she’s been lucky enough to bounce around the globe for the last few years. While earning her Bachelors of Science in Foreign Service from the Edmund E. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and majoring in International Political Economy, Yashreeka was a Patrick Healy Fellow chosen for her leadership in the community of color and coordinated the Kids2College program, introducing the ever-important word “college” into the vocabularies of disenfranchised sixth graders throughout Washington, D.C. Also, during her undergraduate career, she interned with U.S. Senator Tim Johnson on Capitol Hill, assisted the outreach coordinator at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and worked with an NGO in Bangladesh addressing issues of violence against women and microfinance. And finally, she was privileged to study abroad in Egypt at the American University of Cairo, an experience so fulfilling that she felt compelled to return to Egypt after she graduated.
In Egypt, Yashreeka assisted in teaching high school economics and middle school mathematics at the American International School in Egypt for a year and subsequently wrote for the leading fashion and lifestyle publication of the Middle East, Enigma Magazine. But those were only her day jobs. By night, she founded a non-profit dedicated to allowing young Egyptians to showcase their many talents in the performing arts. With performances on MTV Arabia and other widely-viewed television programs, features in many magazines, and tracks played on the top radio station in Cairo, the performing arts company did much to open the doors for young Egyptians to do what they love. As trite as it may seem, Yashreeka believes the world’s greatest evils are ignorance, apathy, and idle hands. The arts might just be the solution. And so Yashreeka decided it was about time to find a way to integrate her creative inklings into her professional aspirations. Maybe a career running non-profit businesses was in her future. She applied to Stanford University’s Summer Institute for General Management to determine if she was a good fit for such endeavors. Earning a full scholarship through the Pepsico Foundation and winning the Dean’s Award are testaments to her abilities in the business realm, but nothing was going to stop her from attending law school, a dream since she was three years old. She sees herself practicing law, starting businesses, and just generally bettering the world by providing avenues for the world’s youth to combat ignorance, defy apathy, and fill their idle hands. Stay tuned to figure out just how she does it…
And in whatever time finds in between, Yashreeka will be dancing. She will never stop dancing. “Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” ~Martha Graham
Trish Krajniak
Trish grew up in Wauconda, Illinois, and earned her BA in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of Colorado at Boulder. During her time as an undergraduate, Trish volunteered with various organizations, including Intercambio de Comunidades, the I Have a Dream Foundation, The Family Learning Center, and Amnesty International. In studying Spanish and Portuguese languages and literature, Trish became interested in Latin American culture and politics. She was also able to study abroad in Spain for one semester, which proved to be a life-changing experience.
Trish’s dad has established himself as the most influential character in her life. She enjoyed watching him spend over 20 years as a police officer in Illinois, and developed an interest in working for the government at a young age. In her junior year at CU-Boulder, Trish’s dad proposed the idea of going to law school as a vehicle to working in the public sector. She accepted the challenge, and came to Sturm College of Law directly after graduation.
Trish hopes to serve the interest of the public with her language abilities and legal education. She has a strong interest in policy development and analysis- especially in the fields of health and education- and intends to work for the government. In her free time, Trish enjoys running, writing, and cooking. She also loves to travel, and hopes to continue her language studies.
Melissa Lawson
Melissa Lawson first gazed upon the world from Memphis, Tennessee. From an early age, she developed an affinity for delta blues music, a fine pulled pork sandwich, and posing the wonderfully succinct question, “Why?”
Melissa graduated magna cum laude from Colorado College where she pursued philosophy and Spanish. In addition to wrestling with Hegel and Heidegger, she volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children. Melissa studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico where she discovered an entire population of homeless and working children in need of a voice. The following six months found her engaged in field research and the study of child labor in the area.
After graduating from CC in 2006, Melissa’s compass led her to Austin, the oasis of Texas. She spent the following four years as a third grade bilingual educator in a Title I school. She fell in love with teaching and embraced the role whole-heartedly. Melissa traveled abroad and volunteered during summer months. In Huachipa, Peru, she joined a grass roots organization called Asociacion SOLAC and aided in the construction of a local school, while also organizing child labor marches. In Oaxaca, MX, Melissa spent the summer months working with the World Wide Organization Of Organic Farmers.
She found the loves of her life in the shapes of two South Austin shelter dogs and a mussy haired Kindergarten teacher. You may sight any combination of them gardening, running, camping, bicycling, or driving with heads and arms hanging outside the windows.
They all moved to Denver, Colorado in August 2010 and Melissa entered a dual degree program in law and social work. She intends to use her degrees in the arena of public interest law and provide a voice for children in need of strong advocates.
Beth Phillips
Beth Phillips grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Missouri with a degree in English and Sociology. After graduation, Beth spent a year of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA, where she helped provide free school supplies to teachers working in St. Louis public schools.
In 2005 Beth moved to Denver and began working for Mile High United Way’s Bridging the Gap program. Bridging the Gap assists the nearly 400 foster youth who emancipate from the Colorado foster care system each year. Bridging the Gap helps foster youth become self-sufficient through: financial education, matched savings accounts, and public policy. Through Bridging the Gap’s advocacy efforts, Beth helped convene state and county partners to facilitate collaboration and better outcomes for youth, and successfully pass over ten pieces of legislation. Additionally, Beth published editorials and articles in local publications to raise awareness about foster youth in her community
The youth in Bridging the Gap taught Beth the ability of the court to influence the lives of our most vulnerable population: children. Beth struggled to leave her job and the countless youth who influenced her; however, she is comforted knowing the legal education she will receive at Denver University will arm her with the skills to continue to advocate for foster youth and make systemic changes.
Beth’s current legal interests are in the areas of juvenile law and public policy.
Maria Rettinger
Maria is a St. Louis, MO native who graduated from Drury University in Springfield, MO, with degrees in Psychology, Criminology, and Spanish. Although she participated in many community service opportunities in high school, it was at Drury that she developed a strong belief in the value of public interest. During all four years at Drury, Maria tutored at a local elementary school, teaching Spanish lessons to children grades K-5, The importance of being bilingual also served as the topic upon which her community service project as a part of Drury’s Summit Park Leadership Community residency was based during her sophomore year of college. She also developed a project at the school called “Girls with Guts,” which helped raise the self-esteem scores of third through fifth grade girls who had scored poorly in that regard at the beginning of the school year.
During the summer following her sophomore year of undergraduate work, Maria worked as a general counselor at Ramapo for Children, an organization that allows children ages 4 to 16 who have autism spectrum or behavioral disorders a typical camp experience. As a result of this experience, her compassion and concern for others grew. Maria then studied in London, England during the first half of her junior year.
Upon her return from studying abroad in London in the spring of 2008, Maria created a Spanish reading program for children at a local elementary school who came from bilingual backgrounds. She also started tutoring local adults and children of Hispanic descent through English lessons at a local Catholic Church. The development of Spanish language skills through these experiences caused Maria to seek out further opportunities to expand her knowledge of Hispanic culture. During her senior year, Maria was elected president of the Drury Volunteer Corps, an organization of over 200 students of varied service interests. She guided eight committees, personally overseeing the underrepresented groups committee.
Following her graduation from Drury, Maria spent her summer working at a free camp for impoverished children in the Dominican Republic. She learned as much from these children concerning the value of giving back to the global community as they did about sports, drama, and arts and crafts as a part of their camp experience. More than anything, Maria is excited to pursue all of the immigration career options that Denver has to offer and to serve and learn from clients of various ethnic backgrounds.
Kira Suyeishi
Kira was born and raised in Denver and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston College with a major in Political Science and an interdisciplinary minor in Faith, Peace, and Justice Studies. She chose to focus her minor on human rights and the sociology of race and wrote her senior thesis on “The commercial portrayal of Asian-American women in the U.S. and its effect on the demand for sex trafficking of women from Asian countries.”
While at BC, Kira was on the executive board of Amnesty International, a volunteer tutor for a GED program, and a first-year mentor for FACES, an organization committed to education on issues of race and racism. She also volunteered as the Intake Coordinator for the New England Innocence Project, a pro bono project of Goodwin Procter, LLP, which works to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals through the use of DNA evidence or other scientific testing. Additionally, she traveled to Kingston, Jamaica with the Pedro Arrupe International Program, which is a service-learning program devoted to social justice.
Kira also worked as the Campaign Coordinator for the Committee to Elect Andrea Silbert for Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor and later worked as a Press Intern in Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Press Office. She studied abroad in Sydney, Australia and worked at Amnesty International Australia as a Refugee Caseworker.
After college, Kira spent two years working as litigation paralegal at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP in Washington, DC. While there, she was exposed to working in the fast-paced environment of a law firm and had the opportunity to work on a variety of cases in different practice areas. She particularly enjoyed working on a number of pro bono matters including multiple asylum cases, an employment discrimination suit based on HIV-positive status, a death penalty case, and a case representing Guantanamo detainees.
She is excited to be back home in Denver pursuing her law degree.