Second Cohort of Dean Fellows Introduced at 2023 Foundations Week
August 24, 2023
1st Row, (L-R) Jaelyn Deng, Clarissa Romero, Samantha Magdelano, Dean Linda Greene, Esmeralda Rios, Janet Ibarra, Firas Iman; 2nd Row, (L-R) Heidi Munoz Perez, DeCarlo Brown, Carschana Laporte, Jasmine Felder, Hajra Akram, Francis Nicholai, Back Row, (L-R): Ravyn Lockridge, Calvin Wilborn, Douglas Thomas, Stephanie Golphin, Blake Querio, Whitney Dean, Rolando Foster, Veronica Greco, Anthony Mayotte, Miguel Aguire
Not pictured: Sydni Henagan, Allison Opheim
The second annual Dean’s Fellow Program launched during Foundations Week 2023 at Michigan State University College of Law. The program was designed by Dean Linda Greene to bring together students from the incoming first-year class. These students were selected based on an inclusive excellence model, examining all facts and circumstances that bear on a student’s likelihood of personal academic success and the benefit to society. The inaugural program was introduced last year during Foundations Week.
The incoming class of first-year students has been recognized as the most diverse class in the history of the law college as well as the most inclusive and highly credentialed,” Dean Greene said. “I am looking forward to initiating the comprehensive program planned for this year’s Dean’s Fellows, as well as engaging with students representing a variety of experiences.”
“I’m excited about the diversity of this group, geographically and professionally,” said Dean Greene. “We have students all the way from Alaska to Alabama and students who come from different professions. We have scientists, paralegals, and even members of the military who are involved in the program this year.”
Dean Greene also expressed her enthusiasm for the involvement of Audra Foster, Director of Pipeline Programming, Outreach, and Education in the Dean’s Fellows program this year. Ms. Foster’s connections within the Michigan legal community will be a great asset for students in the program.
“Our focus this year is on the legal profession’s public service career paths,” Ms. Foster said. “We will explore opportunities across a wide range of legal disciplines including criminal law, civil rights law, intellectual property, data privacy, international law, and immigration law. I expect that this year's Dean’s Fellows will successfully acquire a public service summer work experience that will allow them to grow their legal network, develop professionally, and personally grow while serving Michigan's diverse communities and beyond.”
The program enables students to work closely with faculty and network to jumpstart their legal careers. After hearing more about this opportunity, students said they were looking forward to starting their law school journeys with a group who can encourage them to excel.
“I am very honored I was chosen for the program,” said Carschana Laporte, ’26. “I was a little scared coming into it. But after the first session, I’m excited to see how I will grow in the next couple of years at MSU Law.”
“I’m curious to see where the fellowship will take me and the people I will meet,” said Ravyn Lockridge, ’26. “I’m looking to gain new relationships, new knowledge, and possibly a future employer; I’m just hoping this opportunity can help take me where I need to go.”