Student Awards
Congratulations to the Recipients of the 2020 Student Awards!
Welcome
It is our great honor to celebrate the achievements and hard work of our students and student leaders at Denver Law. This year we celebrate over 150 student honorees receiving over 45 different awards that recognize our students for outstanding leadership, academic achievement, prolific writing, acute lawyering skills, zealous advocacy, and overall positive contribution to the law school. Each year, outstanding students leave a lasting impact on our law school community, and this year is no different even as students adapted to the challenges of COVID-19. We are ever-so-proud of our students and cannot thank them enough for their contributions to the Sturm College of Law.
Please join us in celebrating our 2020 Student Awards recipients by reading our digital program and viewing video remarks celebrating these students’ achievements.
Congratulations!
Student Achievement Awards
Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute Annual Prize
Each year, the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute recognizes excellent students who demonstrate outstanding potential for impact in the sustainable development field. This award is given to the student(s) who make significant contributions to the work of RMLUI and the field of land use law. The cash prize is generously funded by Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti.
Maggie Coats ∙ Matthew Grossi
Leonard v.B. Sutton Award
This award is for the best written paper in international law. The award affords the recipient the opportunity to attend The Hague Academy of International Law.
Rachel Blue
Irving P. Andrews Award for Outstanding Law Graduate
The late Irving P. Andrews was one of the most talented trial attorneys in Colorado. He was highly regarded for his masterful oratorical skills, keen intellect, commitment to excellence, strong dedication to under-served populations and an undying love of the law. The Sam Cary Bar Association established this award in the name of Irving P. Andrews to honor a law graduate who has demonstrated academic excellence, professionalism, integrity and respect for the rule of law.
Kiah Ellis
Christina Murray
Arnold P. Chutkow Award
This award is given to a student on the editorial board of the University of Denver Law Review who has demonstrated both academic achievement and service to the law school community.
Kelsi White
Public Good Distinction
The Public Good Distinction is an honor that Denver Law awards graduating students based upon their demonstrated commitment to public interest law throughout their legal education. Students devote at least 16 credits to public interest coursework and participate in a capstone course in their final year. This is the inaugural year of the distinction.
Ciara Anderson | Aidan Asplundh | Julia Bowman | Jesse Carey | Caroline Kelleigh Driscoll | Rebbecca Dumbleton |
Kiah Ellis | Elena Engel | Kelsey Fairholm | Jacob Goldstein | Alice Hansen | Joshua Horman |
Gideon Irving | Kellie Jenkins | Edwin LaMair | Kimberly Langona | Kelsey Layman | Grace Lundergan |
Naomi Martin | Payton Martinez | Madeline Middlebrooks | Janelle Miller | Merrily Newcomb | |
Mckenna Newsum-Schoenberg | Luke Niermann | Andrea Pache | Desiree Palomares | Haley Price | |
Jenny Regier | Andrew Shulman | Taylor Volkman | Dylan Voneiff | Ashley Zurkan |
Lawyering Process Awards
Reese Persuasive Writing Award
This award is given to students with the best written briefs in the spring 2019 Lawyering Process program.
Stephanie Childress ∙ Molly Clarke ∙ Katelyn Clarke ∙ Bradley Ecker ∙ Anthony Gunnell
Meralee Hoffelt ∙ David Law ∙ Sarah Quigley ∙ Rebekah Reeser ∙ Josh Sather
Thomas Swanson ∙ Alex Thomas ∙ Casey Weaver
Hartje Objective Writing Award
This award is given to students with the best written memos in the fall 2019 Lawyering Process program.
Dana Bradley ∙ Grace Bolt ∙ Shannon Calhoun ∙ Madeline Considine ∙ Kaitlyn Dehmer
Michelle Gaeng ∙ Cassandra Gardner ∙ Rebecca Glover ∙ Heather Hodge ∙ Marcella Keller
Emily Maino ∙ Samuel Parker ∙ Carolyn Welter ∙ Breanne Wernars
Wilson Hurt Oral Argument Award
This award is given to the students who delivered the best oral argument in the spring 2020 Lawyering Process program.
Kaitlyn Dehmer ∙ Rebecca Glover ∙ Lanny Holstein ∙ Casey Morris
Kelly Lotterhos ∙ Nicholas Moskevich ∙ Carolyn Welter
Experiential Awards
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Civil Litigation Clinic
Nathalie Kenny ∙ Eileen Webster
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Civil Rights Clinic
Ciara Anderson
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Community Economic Development Clinic
Remi Ri'Chard
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Community Innovation Equity Project
Liza Sawyer
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Criminal Defense Clinic
Mckenna Newsum-Schoenberg ∙ Patricia Peña ∙ Young Shin
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Environmental Law Clinic
Rachael Jaffe
Outstanding Student Lawyer – Immigration Law & Policy Clinic
Kimberly Langona ∙ Grace Lundergan ∙ Jennifer Regier
Outstanding Student in a Judicial Externship
This award is given to a student who has demonstrated excellence in an externship in judicial chambers. The recipient has engaged in critical reflection about the legal profession, their legal career, and their priorities and values as a lawyer and as an individual. In addition, this student has produced high-quality work in the field, and has demonstrated professionalism and a strong work ethic.
Nicole King
Outstanding Student in a Private-Sector Externship
This award is given to a student who has demonstrated excellence in an externship with a private firm. The recipient has engaged in critical reflection about the legal profession, their legal career, and their priorities and values as a lawyer and as an individual. In addition, this student has produced high-quality work in the field, and has demonstrated professionalism and a strong work ethic.
Elise Gordon
Outstanding Student in a Public-Sector Externship
This award is given to a student who has demonstrated excellence in an externship with a nonprofit organization or government agency or entity. The recipient has engaged in critical reflection about the legal profession, their legal career, and their priorities and values as a lawyer and as an individual. In addition, this student has produced high-quality work in the field, and has demonstrated professionalism and a strong work ethic.
Jaycey DeHoyos
Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution
The students receiving this award are recognized for their outstanding skills in the areas of advocacy in international arbitration, client counseling, mediation, and mediation advocacy.
Adaku Marizu ∙ Rachel Neumann ∙ Joseph Whalen ∙ Laura Yeager
Excellence in International Arbitration
This award is presented to students on the international arbitration moot teams who demonstrated outstanding oral advocacy, contribute to development of the international law program, and show an overall mastery of international arbitration.
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Excellence in Transactional Skills
This award recognizes those students who have demonstrated a clear understanding and achievement of the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as a business lawyer in a transactional law practice. In particular, students will have attained general corporate law knowledge, corporate drafting skills, merger and acquisition knowledge, financial literacy, negotiation skills, and critical deal skills.
Kelsey Kubiak
Sean Magraw
Shelley Ormsby
Kaley Rickert
LLM and Masters Programs Awards
Outstanding Master of Science in Legal Administration Graduate
This award is presented to a graduating student in the Master of Science in Legal Administration program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.
Stephal Aban ∙ Rachel Drechsler
Outstanding Master of Legal Studies Graduate
This award is presented to a graduating student in the Master of Legal Studies program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.
Mariana Diaz ∙ Alexandra Stuart
Outstanding American Law Practice LLM Graduate
This award is presented to a graduating student in the American Law Practice program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.
Cristopher Muñoz Peña
Outstanding International Business Transactions LLM Graduate
This award is presented to a graduating student in the International Business Transactions program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.
Asem Alhudaithi
Outstanding Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Graduates
This award is presented to a graduating student in both the Master of Legal Studies and Master of Laws Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy programs for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.
Fraser McCallum
Rodrigo Sanz Lacaux
Student Bar Association Awards
The Student Bar Association Awards are awarded to students, faculty, and staff that are nominated and elected by the student body.
Outstanding 1L Full-Time Student |
Henali Patel |
Outstanding 2L Full-Time Student |
Alex Thomas |
Outstanding Part-Time Students |
Edward Bowden Kaley Rickert |
Outstanding Legal Masters Student |
Katie Arsenault |
Outstanding Graduating Student |
Naomi Martin |
Daniel S. Hoffman Award for Outstanding Student Leadership |
Naomi Martin |
Outstanding Staff or Administrator |
Christopher Newman |
Outstanding Faculty Member |
Prof. Thomas Russell |
Mentorship Award |
Prof. Alexi Freeman |
SBA Endowed Scholarship Award |
Andrea Duby Cybelle Floyd |
Student Leadership Awards
Most Innovative Program Award
This award recognizes a student who has implemented a new program or significantly modified an existing program which better serves the law school community.
Claire Pakis
Justin Vanderveer
Inclusive Excellence Award
This award is presented to a student who models inclusivity and has demonstrated a commitment to diversity through service and programming. These individuals bring diverse perspectives to the Sturm College of Law community.
Hayden DePorter
Cybelle Floyd
Student Leadership Award
These awards are given to students who have fulfilled two of the three following criteria: 1) initiated a new student program or organization; 2) significantly improved an existing program; or 3) demonstrated leadership by contributing considerable time, resources, and talents to the law school community.
Jacob Goldstein
Katherine Googins
Naomi Martin
Christina Murray
Tatum Perez
Andrew Shulman
Alex Thomas
Outstanding Leadership Award
This award is presented to a graduating student who has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the law school through consistent service to student organizations, and/or has demonstrated extraordinary community involvement on behalf of the Sturm College of Law.
Gideon Irving
Order of the Coif Candidates
The Order of the Coif is an honorary scholastic society recognizing those who, as law students, attained a high grade of scholarship. Students eligible for membership must have attained a grade record ranking in the upper 10 percent of all students in their graduating class. The honors and Order of the Coif listings are tentative and reflect grade point averages after the first five semesters. Final determination of Order of the Coif will occur after all 2019-2020 academic year grades are recorded.
Congratulations to the newest presumptive members of the Order of the Coif for the 2019-2020 academic year:
Julia Bowman | Matthew Branaugh | Sydney Donovan | Anna Dykema | Elena Engel | Laura Fodor | Matthew Grossi |
Gideon Irving | Amy Jones | Chelsea Kelleher | Joseph Kmetz | Edwin LaMair | Grace Lundergan | Emily Mendoza |
Luke Niermann | Katarzyna Parecki | Jennifer Regier | Chelsea Reinhard | Lauren Selby | Kelsi White | Caitlin Wightman |
Juris Doctor Academic Distinction Awards
Clarence L. Bartholic Highest Grade in Legal Profession Award
This award was initiated by the Brewer Inn of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity, which promotes professional ethics. This award honors students who achieved the highest grade in Legal Profession during the prior calendar year (2018). Mr. Bartholic, after whom the award is named, was a 1925 alumnus of the Sturm College of Law.
Meagan Fackler ∙ Katie Kellett ∙ Kelsey Layman ∙ Benjamin Lutter
Zigmas Polinauskas ∙ Emily Staker
Howard Jenkins, Jr. Labor Law Award
This award is given to the student who received the highest grade in Labor Law.
Benjamin Lutter
John Phillip Linn Labor Law Award
This award is given to a graduating student whose interest, activities, and scholarship manifest an ability to make an outstanding contribution to Labor and Employment Law.
Kellie Jenkins
Melanie Hardaway Memorial Award for Outstanding Graduate
This award is given to graduating student(s) in the top five percent of the class who have made the greatest overall contribution to the law school.
Anna Dykema
Prof. Hardaway sent a personal letter to the recipient in lieu of a video.
Harry Clayton Davis Award
This award is given annually to a student who has made the greatest overall academic progress during their law school career.
Ashley Becker
Kenneth L. Smith Award
This prize is awarded to the students who earned the highest grade point averages during their academic tenure at the Sturm College of Law.
Full-Time Division: Jennifer Regier
Part-Time Division: Sydney Donovan