Student Profiles
Anastasya Uskova
Anastasya Uskova, a graphic design major in the 3+3 Legal Scholars program received the Outstanding Graduate Award in the Visual Arts department as well as in the Pacific Legal Scholars Program. Among her accomplishments while at Pacific, Anastasya traveled with a professor to China to complete research, helped organize an Inaugural Event, and participated in the national Cut & Paste design competition.
Anastasya described her insight to the Pacific Legal Scholars Program as, "Through this program, I was not only informed about the real rigors of Law School, but I was also given an invaluable advantage in understanding how to work with, and love the law."
Law school: Anastasya is now attending McGeorge School of Law. She was offered the highest award granted to McGeorge students, the Kennedy Scholarship, which pays for three years of law school tuition and the cost of first-year of books. Anastasya is interested in a career that incorporates international, intellectual property, and cultural law, as well as art and design.
Anastasya recently completed an internship with the San Joaquin County Bar Association where she was able to integrate her graphic design talent and her legal talent to help create a new symbolic logo for the San Joaquin County Bar Association that will be used for years to come. According to the Director, Rebekah Burr-Siegel, she stated, "Anastasya was a joy to work with. She developed a richly symbolic logo that perfectly represents our organization. It's a rare treat to work with someone with interests in both graphic design and the law."
Kelly Volkar
Kelly was in the 3+3 Legal Scholars program and majored in English, with minors in Pre-Law, Philosophy, and French. She graduated summa cum laude and received the Outstanding Graduate Award and Highest GPA Award in the English Department as well as the Outstanding Graduate Award in the Pacific Legal Scholars Program. She completed internships with the San Joaquin County Bar Association and the San Joaquin County Public Defender's Office. Kelly also had several on-campus jobs: Building Manager for the DeRosa University Center, Tutor for the Educational Resource Center, and Copy Editor for the Pacifician. She was a member of Pacific's Speech & Debate Team and national honor societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Order of Omega Greek Leadership, and the Pre-Law Fraternity Phi Alpha Delta.
She described the Pacific Legal Scholars Program as, "I don't have any lawyers in my family, and I never knew any before the PLS program. I had no idea what Law School was like, and little idea what to expect out of the career I hoped to go into beyond what I had seen on TV. I find myself more prepared than the average student in my entering class, and it is all due to the experience and knowledge I gained as a Pacific Legal Scholar. I can't recommend it enough."
Law school: Kelly was accepted into McGeorge School of Law and was offered the Kennedy Scholarship. She was also accepted into the University of California, Davis School of Law, which is where she is a current student. Kelly was awarded an Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD) Fellowship to use for law school. ALD is the national academic honor society for first year students, and awards fellowships to members who have maintained high academic performance during their undergraduate years and plan on pursuing a graduate or professional degree.
Minhchau Dinh
Minhchau "Minnie" Dinh completed the 4+3 Legal Scholars Program and earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Sustainability. While at Pacific, she presented her legal research at the Sport and Recreation Law Association Conference, served as a panelist on Asian Pacific Islander community issues at the National Communication Association Conference, and delivered two PURCC (Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference) presentations regarding biology and economics.
During her time in the Legal Scholars Program Minhchau also participated in two fellowships. In the summer of 2009 she work on K-12 Education initiatives in Washington, D.C. with the Asian Pacific Islanderd civil rights organization OCA and the Southeast ASia Resource Action Center. In 2011, she was a Policy and Law Fellow for the Public Policy and Intrenational Affairs Fellowship (PPIA), where she took graduate courses in public policy and law for seven weeks at the Goldman School of PUblic Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
Minhchau received the Outstanding Graduate Award for the 2012 Legal Scholars class. She now plans to complete her term as Program Director for the largest Vietnamese Student Conference in the nation. In the fall, Minhchau will begin her tenure in the Pacific Ambassador Corps Fellowship through the University of Council of Social Entrepeneurs. Here, Minhchau will be placed in HUe, Central Vietnam to work on public health and microfinance initiatives. In a few years, she intends to apply for a join JD/MPP degree in law and policy.
Pacific Legal Scholars on the Move
Bryce McLaughlin was in the 3+3 Legal Scholars Program, and graduated summa cum laude in Music Management. He was the first student recipient of a Pacific Innovation Grant Fund, and participated in several independent research projects, such as the Artist Rights Workshop and the Music Business Guidance and Assessment Program. His research has been published by the Berklee College of Music's The Music Business Journal, and he presented his research at the Phi Alpha Theta History Conference. He is the founder and CEO of Key Man Group, a non-profit corporation that helps musicians around the world become successful in today's music business. Bryce is a current student in Pacific's MBA program.
Bonnie Wheeler was in the 3+3 Legal Scholars program and graduated magna cum laude in Business, with a concentration in Business Law. She founded the Pacific Global Law Brigade club and successfully led a group of Pacific students to Panama to help indigenous people with legal work. She was a member of Pacific's Greek Judicial Review Board, Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity, and Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She was also a member of several national honor societies, such as Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. Bonnie is a current student in Pacific's dual J.D./MBA program in the Eberhardt School of Business, studying international corporate law.
Julia Sweeney was in the 3+3 Legal Scholars program and majored in Political Science with a minor in Pre-Law. She studied abroad in Spain and completed an internship in Washington D.C. for Senator Barbara Boxer's office. Julia completed research and presented her findings at the Midwest Political Science Conference. She also worked for the Students with Disabilities office and the Educational Research Center on campus. Julia was accepted into the highly selective Teach for America program, and is currently teaching in the Mississippi Delta, where she will reside for the next two years, and then attend law school.
Nabeel Cajee was in the 3+3 Legal Scholars program, and completed a self-designed major of Science and Conscience, as well as studied pre-dentistry. He was the Executive Director and founder of Stockton 2020, the nation's first youth-based library advocacy movement to promote reinvestment in local libraries. He served as a research assistant to a Pacific Sociology professor, and co-presented the findings at the Conference of the Pacific Sociological Association in Seattle, WA. He also assisted a Biology professor in research, which contributed to her academic papers and will be published. Nabeel is currently working on two projects, including an iPhone application and a dental device for elderly individuals with disabilities. Following, he will attend graduate school in Dentistry.
Anthony Garcia majored in Communication with a minor in Pre-Law. He has a beautiful Tenor voice, and sang in Handel's Messiah for the Stockton Choral and several other productions throughout his undergraduate career. Anthony participated in an internship with Judge Murray at the San Joaquin County Courthouse during his junior year, and subsequently conducted undergraduate research for Judge Murray. During his senior year, Anthony served as President of Phi Alpha Delta, the Pre-law fraternity on campus. He will be attending Georgetown Law School in the fall.
Freshman Kyle Sasai Delivers Hope to Local Students
.jpg "Founder of HopeStreet")
Kyle Sasai, a Political Science major in the Pacific Legal Scholars program, has spent much of the last year developing HopeStreet, which is a program that came to fruition when Kyle and several other Pacific students delivered backpacks with school supplies to 64 eighth grade students at Cleveland School in Stockton. Kyle and his fellow Pacificans spoke to the Cleveland students in small groups, giving them words of advice about high school, college and reaching for their dreams. HopeStreet is intended to encourage middle school students to receive their high school diploma and pursue a college degree. This year, he plans to expand the project to reach over 350 students. The Record and News 10 covered HopeStreet, and Kyle was invited to speak at their promotion ceremony last May.
Kyle credits much of the success of his HopeStreet project to the support he received from the Pacific Legal Scholars Program, particularly from his advisor, Dr. Dylan Zorea, and the program Director, Dr. Cynthia Ostberg. Kyle stated, "The Legal Scholars Program has not only enhanced my legal knowledge, but also has set a foundation for law school, which helps in the classes I am taking now. I have learned valuable legal writing skills that have been useful in internships. In addition, I have received insight by being exposed to the law through events and visiting law firms."
Read more about Kyle Sasai and HopeStreet