Congratulations to Scholarship Winners Sarah Medina Camiscoli and Anita N.H. Yandle

The coronavirus has increased the financial burden on families throughout the country. Students in particular are feeling the effects. Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. is pleased to announce that we are awarding scholarships to two law students during the crisis: Sarah Medina Camiscoli and Anita N.H. Yandle. Join us in congratulating both of them.

Meet Sarah Medina Camiscoli

Sarah is a 2L student at Yale School of Law, and a former ESL teacher. Sarah obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sociocultural Anthropology and Hispanic Studies from Columbia; she graduated cum laude, and earned “Recognition of Excellence in Anthropology.” She obtained her master’s degree in education from the CUNY Hunter School of Education, where she specialized in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages K-12. At CUNY Hunter, she earned a 4.0 GPA and was a recipient of the TESOL K-12 Research Award.

Sarah is the co-designer of the national #StillNotEqual campaign, and the Founder and Executive Director of IntegrateNYC, the nation’s first and only organization design 21st-century solutions for school integration and equity. It currently serves more than 1 million students across New York City.

Sarah told us that her work as an ESL teacher is what inspired her to pursue a degree in public interest law:

The questions of young people impacted by inequity are an abundant, untapped resource for discovering new interventions to civil rights violations in our society. I will attend Yale Law School this fall because I believe a legal education nested in public interest coupled with my insight on youth-led advocacy will yield novel approaches to complex civil and constitutional litigation and legislative advocacy to remedy the injuries of civil rights violations against our next generation.

Meet Anita Yandle

Anita is a 2L student at Columbia Law School, where she participated in the Human Rights Institute 1L Advocates Program and the Native American Law Students Association Moot Court. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, where she majored in Spanish and minored in Human Rights; Law, Society & Justice; and Political Science.

A community activist and organizer, Anita worked at the Washington State Association for Justice before pursuing her law degree. Her work with the organization opened her eyes to how often the justice system fails the very people it is supposed to protect. This is what Anita told us:

At times, I could tell that when I explained our issues to members of the general public, their eyes glaze over. I admit, mandatory arbitration and punitive damages are not the most glamorous issues, and people may choose just to focus on our more digestible subjects, like equal pay. But having personally faced the prospect of participating in a civil justice system that felt stacked against me, I knew that no matter how seemingly minute the issue, there are real people affected.

The Plaxen Adler Muncy Scholarship was designed to help law students who wish to strengthen the civil justice system. We believe they will be great assets to the legal community, and look forward to meeting these winners in person as soon as we are allowed to do so.

The Plaxen Adler Muncy Scholarship Awards $2500 annually to a law student who has demonstrated an interest in civil trial advocacy and a career as a civil trial lawyer, as well as the concept of a fair Civil Justice system, a just result for the injured, a desire to represent the injured and those whose rights are jeopardized. The scholarship is available to all students enrolled in law school as well as senior college students already accepted in an accredited law school, including those who are outstanding and promising scholars, have an interest in civil trial advocacy and possess a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Please note that the firm is in the process of selecting another 2020 winner, and is accepting applications through June 1, 2020.