Congratulations to our 2020 Educational Journey Scholarship recipient, Gabby Sergi! Find out more about our previous winner here.
Despite the increased emphasis on diversity and inclusion in the legal field over the past few years, the legal profession remains one of the least diverse of any profession. The American Bar Association reported in 2018 that 85% of lawyers in the United States were Caucasian/white, and only 36% identified as female. Furthermore, there are large geographic disparities in the number of LGBTQ+ lawyers, and the number of African American lawyers has barely seen an increase since 2009. Our attorneys at Nicol Gersch Petterson recognize this disparity and that’s why we have created the Underrepresented and Oppressed Law Students Scholarship.
In an effort to combat this issue and promote minority participation in law, the attorneys at Nicol Gersch Petterson will award $1,000 to the winner of this scholarship. The recent heightened racial tensions and world-wide protests have inspired us to get involved and support those who have been oppressed for decades. We are all responsible to address issues of bias and discrimination in our communities and in our country!
If you identify as a minority and are pursuing or are interested in pursuing a career in law, you are eligible for our scholarship! We want to hear about some of the adversities you have faced due to your minority status. Please also explain what inspired you to pursue a degree in law and/or how you plan to encourage other minorities to obtain a law degree.
Eligibility
- The scholarship is open to any current high school senior, college student or graduate student who is a legal resident of the United States residing in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia and who is enrolled or accepted into a two to five year post-secondary institution for the Spring 2021 semester.
- Employees of Nicol Gersch Petterson, their immediate families (parent, child, sibling, and spouse), and persons living in the same households of such individuals (whether related or not), are not eligible to participate in the competition.
- Candidates for this scholarship should have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher and be in good overall academic standing.
- You must belong to a minority group to apply for this scholarship. Minority groups can include, but are not limited to, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and ethnicity.
Application Requirements
- The candidate must submit a 700-800 word essay response to the prompt: What are some of the adversities you have faced because you are seen as a minority? What inspired you to pursue a degree in law and/or how do you plan to encourage other minorities to obtain a law degree?
- The candidate must submit a professional resumé that lists their experience, both professional and academic.
- The candidate must submit an official or unofficial transcript from their current school. If the candidate does not have a transcript from their post secondary school, a transcript from their high school and acceptance letter to post secondary school applies.
The recipient of the Underrepresented and Oppressed Law Students Scholarship will be chosen during the month following the scholarship deadline.
Application Deadline and Instructions:
To be eligible for this scholarship, candidates must email their full application (including the essay, resumé, and transcript) to info@colawteam.com by February 28, 2021. Any applications sent after this date will not be considered.
Scholarship applications should be sent with the subject line “Nicol Gersch Petterson – Underrepresented and Oppressed Law Students Scholarship Application.”
