SHE Wins! Aspiring Law Student Scholarship Award 2024
Earlier this month, SHE Wins Inc. Founder and CEO A’Dorian Murray-Thomas announced the winner of the SHE Wins – Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP inaugural “Aspiring Law Student” Award Scholarship. Jillian Lewis, a Summa Cum Laude Class of 2024 graduate of Rutgers University – Newark SPAA program, was this year’s winner.
Jillian’s resume of academic excellence, community service and commitment to making a positive change in our society made the SHE Wins judges offer an unanimous decision of confidence that she was the perfect young woman to receive this distinguished award.
After winning the award, Jillian said, “ Thank you to SHE Wins! and Sherman Atlas for recognizing me with this award. I deeply resonate with SHE Wins’ belief that young people most affected by issues in their communities can be the best advocates for their solutions.
My passion for social and housing justice is rooted in my experience growing up in a rapidly changing urban landscape of gentrification, displacement, and a lack of safe and affordable housing. I hope that I can make a difference in the lives of marginalized individuals and communities like the ones I’ve been lucky enough to call home.
I hope to make you all proud and live up to the expectations of this award. With this support, I will continue preparing for the August LSAT and apply to law schools, including NYU and Vanderbilt. In the future, I aim to pursue either housing law or land use and urban policy.
Special thanks to my mom Victoria for all of her support.”
SHE Wins CEO A’Dorian Murray-Thomas shared, “Increasing representation of Black and Brown women in the legal profession has been both a delicate and sometimes uncomfortable but very necessary conversation about what diversity really looks like”.. She added, “As a community, we must continue to do more to eliminate the barriers of entry that exist. SHE Wins is committed to being a resource for young women in the greater Newark area , and we are honored to be partnering in this work with the leadership and team Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman This scholarship would not have been possible without the love, vision and consistent support of Deanna Christian, an attorney at Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP (SASS) and longtime mentor and supporter of SHE Wins!
We want to thank Deanna for her commitment to empowering Black and brown girls! We would also like to thank Bill and all the partners at SASS for believing in young women and the power of our dreams. We appreciate SASS for being a resource giving prospective law students a financial and competitive edge to gain entry into law school and committing to being a mentor to them throughout the process.
Special thanks to Dana M. Murray from SHE Wins who ran lead in this work and all women lawyers and law school students who shared their stories and photos for this endeavor. I would also like to thank all the amazing young women who applied.”
Dana M. Murray, the Director of Community Relations and Community Engagement for SHE Wins who was instrumental in helping organize, coordinate and oversee this project stated, “This scholarship seeks to assist in increasing diverse representation in the legal field by empowering one woman from an underrepresented community with equal access to resources that will help her secure a seat in law school. Today was a powerful moment in SHE Wins history. Next year, we hope to double our impact.”
Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP (SASS), in partnership with SHE Wins Inc. (SHE Wins!), is committed to increasing diverse representation in the legal field. This award was created to provide one woman from an underrepresented community with equal access to resources that will help her secure a seat in law school. Scores on the Law Student Admission Test (LSAT) are the gatekeeper for admission to law school. The high costs of LSAT preparatory courses often prohibit students from underrepresented communities from accessing this resource, which can be critical to increasing LSAT scores and giving prospective law students a competitive edge to gain entry into law school or afford them the opportunity to apply to the school of their choosing.
Lakita Lloyd, SHE Wins! founding member and Criminal Justice major at Essex County College gave special remarks. A delicious lunch was catered by Kelly from “ Cater 2 You” catering service and the ceremony was held at Heritage Hall in Newark.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Contact Name: A’Dorian Murray-Thomas
Position: SHE Wins! CEO & Founder
Organization: SHE Wins & Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP
Phone Number: 862-259-2WIN (2946)
Email Address: [email protected]
For more information, please visit https://shewins.org; https://www.shermanatlas.com/
