Student Awards

Congratulations to the Recipients of the 2024 Student Awards!

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 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. 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 2024 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.

    Danielle DeSantis • Ryan Tseng

  • Leonard v.B. Sutton Award

    This award is for the best paper in international law and consists of a cash award and the opportunity to attend the Hague Academy of International Law this summer.

    Rachel Crass

  • 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.

    Kayla Armbrust Dakota Hamko Dana Lindenberg McKenna Milton Marlene Pierce Amelia Smith
    Paul Billinson Anna Hamp Lynne Lucas Maeve Moynihan Nicole Pla Melissa Sumner
    Andrea Bonato Austin Hoenig Haley Macha Gina Nykerk Jordan Ready Kaitlynn Tuohy
    Danielle DeSantis Philip Hudson Sharon Malhotra Audrey Oliver Alexandria Rebimbas Sophia Vander Kooy
    Carolyn Fergus-Callahan Sydney Johnson Nicole May Margaret Palmer Lauren Rowell  
    Kendall Fowler Jonah Karls Danielle McComas Molly Parris Caleigh Schaff  
    Rachel Garlick Erin Kincaid Luke Meidel Kelsey Perkins Leslie Schenk  

     

Experiential Awards

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer – Civil Litigation Clinic

    Eliz Espinoza • Michaela Lee • Amelia Smith • Sophia Vander Kooy

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer – Civil Rights Clinic

    Dana Lindenberg • Audrey Oliver

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer Award - Community Economic Development Clinic

    Kayla Trafford

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer – Criminal Defense Clinic

    Larissa Carroll • Katherine Dolder • Sadaf Naushad • Nick Schmidt • Lillian Stone

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer – Environmental Law Clinic

    Abigail Frische • Jonathan Harley • Mary Lobato

  • Outstanding Student Lawyer – Immigration Law & Policy Clinic

    Lindsay Hammond

  • Outstanding Student in a Judicial Externship

    This award is given to a student who has demonstrated excellence in a judicial externship opportunity. 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.

    Kimberly Luna

  • 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.

    Amelia Marsh

     

  • 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.

    Jose Amezola Beltran

  • 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.

    Brooke Haldeman • Leslie Schenk

     

  • Excellence in Transaction 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.

    John Siragusa

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.

    Kristy Padilla

  • 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.

    Haleigh Pannell

  • Outstanding American Law Practice LLM Graduate

    This award is presented to a graduating student in the American Law Practice LLM Graduate Award program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.

    Aretha Eugenio

  • Outstanding International Business Transactions LLM Graduate

    This award is presented to a graduating student in the International Business Transactions LLM Graduate Award program for outstanding academic achievement and mastery of the subject.

    Lydia Bello

Student Leadership Awards

  • Most Innovative Program Award

    This award recognizes students who have implemented a new program or significantly modified an existing program which better serves the law school community.

    Shay Schulz • Dévi Stone Chung

  • Inclusive Excellence Award

    This award is presented to students who model inclusivity and have demonstrated a commitment to diversity through service and programming. These individuals bring diverse perspectives to the Sturm College of Law community.

    Brianna Mendez • Aili Miyake

     

  • 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.

    Mackenzie Budman • Kristiana Camacho-Miles • Isabella Dietrich • Emily Garlock • Emily Sexton • Amanda Spitzenberger • Sophia Vander Kooy

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Outstanding Leadership Award

    This award is presented to graduating students who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the law school through consistent service to student organizations, and/or have demonstrated extraordinary community involvement on behalf of the Sturm College of Law.

    Caley Carlson • Katie Wynn

     

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. Mr. Bartholic, after whom the award is named, was a 1925 alumnus of the Sturm College of Law.

    Caitlin Curley • Alexandra Ong • Elijah Pittman • John Siragusa

  • 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.

    Jennifer Lavoie

  • 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. These students will receive personal letters from Professor Robert Hardaway.

    Danielle DeSantis • Amelia Smith

  • Howard Jenkins, Jr. Labor Law Award

    This award is given to the graduating student with highest grade in Labor Law.

    Dani Fishman

  • John Phillip Linn Labor Law Award

    This award is given to the graduating workplace law certificate student with the highest GPA.

    Samantha Cohen

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