Amanda Avila
Mariam Khan
Taylor Nunley
Nov. 24, 2020 - Three recent participants in the University of Houston Law Center's Pre-Law Pipeline Program were among the Class of 2020 SouthWest Water Company Pre-Law Fellows.
Amanda Avila, Mariam Khan and Taylor Nunley, participated in the first year of the initiative, a unique partnership between the Law Center, SouthWest Water Company and the Hurricane Maria Assistance & Relief Institution Alliance.
"The SWWC Pre-Law Fellowship Program is a stellar opportunity for pre-law students from groups historically under-represented in the law,” said Program Director Kristen Guiseppi. "We commend both HMARIA, Inc. and SouthWest Water Company for supporting underserved students with diverse and low-income backgrounds interested in attending law school and pursuing a legal career. UHLC looks forward to this fruitful partnership."
Avila is majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Legal Studies at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her interest in law was sparked by a motivation to create greater opportunities for minority and impoverished communities and protect minority-owned businesses.
Khan will graduate in May 2021 from the University of Houston and plans to attend law school the following fall. She is interested in pursuing a career in intellectual property law. As a Pakistani woman of color in STEM, Khan hopes to contribute a unique perspective to the legal profession and serve as an advocate for all clients in need of justice.
Nunley recently graduated from UH. In 2019, she completed an internship through the Minority Educational Student Partnership Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York. During her time at Brookhaven National Lab, Nunley had the opportunity to work in the Technology Transfer Office under the direction of researchers and patent attorneys. This experience sparked her interest in the legal field, especially in patent law.
Students in the fellowship program receives individualized, year-round support with the law school application process. Students can also partake in rigorous academic enhancement program offerings, legal internships and a structured mentoring program to help students enter into law school in Fall 2021.
"We are honored to partner with SouthWest Water to provide the SWWC Pre-Law Fellowship, a unique and life-changing, fully-funded fellowship for college students committed to attending law school," said Dr. Jodie Roure, the CEO and president of HMARIA, Inc. "This innovative partnership is an effort to strengthen our college-to-law pipeline to increase diversity in the legal profession. We celebrate SouthWest Water’s commitment to students from disenfranchised populations as we continue to partner with the University of Houston Law Center, a stellar national law school with a demonstrated commitment to diversity in the legal profession."
