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The Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association Scholarship Fund (TCWLSF) awarded 10 scholarships totaling $25,000.
This year, TCWLSF created a new scholarship in honor of past TCWLA President Ana Mejia Dietche, who passed away from ovarian cancer in February 2024. The inaugural recipients of the scholarship, which is available only to University of Texas School of Law students, are Samantha Morales and Kelly Martinez Chinchilla.
Samantha just completed her second year and is a staff editor of the Texas Hispanic Journal for Law and Policy, and she also serves as a mentor for pre-law students.
Kelly is the Texas Law Review articles editor. She is a student member of the Lloyd Lochridge Inn of Court, and she previously interned for U.S. District Judge David Ezra.
The Margaret Cooper Scholarship was established in 2008 to honor former 353rd District Judge Margaret Cooper. The scholarship is awarded to UT Law applicants who demonstrate perseverance in the face of adversity, with special consideration to community service activities. This year’s Margaret Cooper Scholarship recipients are Makenna McGraw and Maria de los Angeles Villarreal.
Makenna recently completed her second year and sits on the Executive Board for Public Interest Law & Texas Law Fellowships.
Maria is a 1L with a social work degree from Columbia University. She mentors pre-law students, is the chief articles editor for the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy, and was president of the Latin Economics and Business Association.
The Ann Forman Scholarship was established in 2012 to honor the life and career of Ann Forman, an accomplished assistant district attorney for Travis County who worked to protect abused and neglected children. Forman passed away in 2019 from breast cancer. The scholarship is awarded to UT Law students who demonstrate particular aptitude in child welfare law. This year’s Ann Forman Scholarship recipients are Abigail Gutierrez and Abigail Gage.
Gutierez is a 2L who participated in UT Law’s Children’s Rights Clinic, representing children in Travis County as an attorney ad litem. She formerly clerked at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid and interned at both the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services and the Center for Child Protection.
Gage is a 2L and member of UT’s Women’s Law Caucus. She wrote a research paper on child protection issues, formerly clerked for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and was vice-president of the Texas State College Diabetes Network.
The Lora Livingston Scholarship was established in 2023 to honor the career of former 261st District Judge Lora J. Livingston. The scholarship is awarded annually to UT Law students of African descent who demonstrate dedication to pro bono activities. This year’s Lora Livingston Scholarship recipients are Sumaya Siddiqui and Diana Obinna.
Sumaya is a staff editor for the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights. She is a student for the Pro Bono and Civil Rights clinics.
Diana just graduated. While in law school, she was a student attorney for the Children’s Rights Clinic, parliamentarian for the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, and organizer of UT Law’s Afrofuturism and the Law symposium.
The Orlinda Naranjo Scholarship was established in 2023 to honor the career of former 419th District Judge Orlinda Naranjo. The scholarship is awarded to female UT Law students of Latina descent. Special consideration is given to community involvement and demonstrated service to social and economic justice. This year’s Orlinda Naranjo Scholarship recipients are Leslie Villacorta and Jovita Pardo.
Leslie is the editor of the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and works at the Center for Public Interest Policy.
Jovita just graduated and was a student attorney for the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic, event director for both the Real Estate Society and Women’s Law Caucus, and associate editor for the Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy.
Congratulations to all of this year’s scholarship recipients!