Six law students recognized in Who's Who
By DOUG SHERWIN, The Daily TranscriptTuesday, October 24, 2006
Six Thomas Jefferson School of Law students have been selected to the Who's Who Among Students In American Universities and Colleges for 2006-2007 list.
Christie Edwards, Stephen Matcha, Yuliya Ivanov, Donald Ostertag, Erik Laakkonen and Mary Hirschauer Stiles were recognized for their academic excellence on a national level.
"Thomas Jefferson School of Law is extremely proud of the accomplishments of the nominees and we congratulate them on their contributions to the Thomas Jefferson community," said Kim Grennan, Thomas Jefferson's registrar.
Who's Who Among Students asked Thomas Jefferson to nominate six students whose academic standing, participation in extracurricular activities and community service combine to identify a decidedly above-average candidate. In addition, each nominee had to survive the subjective test of being nominated by individual students, student organizations, faculty and administration.
Law student awarded Belle Cummins scholarship
Thomas Jefferson School of Law third-year student Matthew Zelasko-Barrett has been awarded the prestigious Belle Cummins Memorial Scholarship by the Association of Administrative Law Judges.
Zelasko-Barrett was selected to receive a $1,000 scholarship in the name of the late Belle Cummins, a Washington, D.C., lobbyist who was a committed and tireless advocate for administrative law judges.
Prior to being a lobbyist, Belle Cummins had a distinguished career as a lawyer for Legal Services, an advocate for women's issues and a Congressional staff member.
A commitment to public law led Zelasko-Barrett to his current internship with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program. He started with their Immigration Law Clinic, which assists women and children who have been victims of domestic violence in their efforts to immigrate, in June 2006. He then began working in its Domestic Violence Clinic, helping domestic violence victims obtain restraining orders and gain access to services, in August of this year.
He continues to work in both clinics. Zelasko-Barrett also is a volunteer for the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma at Alliant International University, where he assists presenters with seminars on the Violence Against Women Act, Men in Trauma and Human Trafficking.
Prior to coming to law school, he worked for a law firm in Michigan where he assisted with toxic tort cases for clients who were low-income blue-collar workers diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases. He is currently applying for fellowships and other post-graduation positions in the public interest field.