Five Law Students Win Scholarships at Barristers’ Ball

Five MSU Law students were awarded $1,000 scholarships at the Barristers’ Ball Saturday night for having the top submissions to a College of Law writing competition.

The students were asked to name a public policy issue they are most passionate about and how they will use their MSU law school education to address that issue.

Staff of Career Services and Advancement read the submissions – all names were redacted – and selected the top five.

MSU Law Student Bar Association and the Barristers’ Ball Planning Committee held a fundraising event to fund the scholarships and off-set some of the event’s expenses.

The winners are:

Patricia De La Hoya-Velez, ’25, of Las Vegas, Nevada. During her first semester, Patricia worked as a law clerk at Elizabeth Abdnour Law where she helped provide legal aid to victims of civil rights violations.

Yara Khalil, ’24, of Lansing, Michigan. During her time in law school, Yara worked in Ingham County Office of the Public Defender where she advocated for indigent clients.

Elisha Hale Tedesco, ’23, of Glasgow, Scotland. While in law school, she won the Jurisprudence Award in the Matrimonial Practice and made the Dean’s List the same semester she had a newborn.

Hugh Theut, ’23, of Escanaba, Michigan. Hugh is Editor in Chief of Michigan State Law Review and interned on the Sixth Circuit Court and the Michigan State Supreme Court.

Christopher Moraitis, 23, of Waterford, Michigan. Christopher is currently a law clerk at Mid-Michigan Estate Planning.