MSU Law Student Receives Prestigious Stell Award from WLAM

MSU Law Student Estella Riahi (3L) was chosen for the Carolyn Stell Memorial Scholarship from the Mid-Michigan chapter of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM). The Memorial Scholarship was established to enable a deserving law school student “to apply, study for, and pass the Michigan Bar Examination and gain admission to the State Bar of Michigan.”

Ms. Riahi was presented with the award during the WLAM Stell Dinner winter event. She was joined by Assistant Director of Career Development Kristina Bilowus and WLAM mentor Jacquelyn Dupler (’12), an attorney with Foster Swift.

“As a first-generation and non-traditional law student who began law school as a second career change, I experienced additional hurdles to overcome at the onset of my law school journey,” said Ms. Riahi. “But the WLAM truly transformed my journey by guiding me onto a path for success through its various programs such as its Leadership Class and Mentorship Program. Words are not enough to express the impact that the WLAM has had on my early legal career and I fully intend to pay it forward by supporting the next generation of female law students as a practicing attorney one day.”

“Estella is an exceptional student and, more importantly, an incredible person that I have had the honor of providing career coaching and watching her growth over the past three years,” said Ms. Bilowus. “She is a deserving law student who is destined to make significant contributions to communities in Michigan.”

Named for the late Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Carolyn Stell, the Stell Memorial Award honors Ingham County’s first female trial court judge. The scholarship’s purpose is to provide financial assistance to a deserving law student preparing for the Michigan Bar Examination. Each year, the Mid-Michigan WLAM chooses “one exceptional female law student to receive (1) a fully paid bar prep course and (2) a $1,500 cash stipend to help offset the costs of studying for and taking the bar exam.”

The WLAM was founded in 1919 to “secure the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession in furtherance of a just society.” The WLAM Mid-Michigan region includes Ingham, Easton, Clinton, and Shiawassee Counties.