Aurora Charland
Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton Summer Fellow
University of Florida, Class of 2023
Aurora Charland is a second-year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. In 2019, Aurora received her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Central Florida, graduating summa cum laude. As an undergraduate student, Aurora received service-learning recognition for her volunteer projects that focused on equal access to education. In addition, she was awarded an honors certification for completing a two-year, leadership-based honors track. During her time at UF Law, Aurora was selected as an Ethos of Excellence Scholar and spent her 1L year regularly volunteering at the Child Advocacy Center of Gainesville, working with children who had been abused, neglected, or trafficked.
The Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton Law Firm generously selected Aurora as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2021. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Aurora will work at Three Rivers Legal Services, supporting their mission to provide free legal assistance to low-income and vulnerable Florida residents.
Caroline Dike
Florida State University, Class of 2023
Caroline Dike is a rising second-year law student at Florida State University College of Law. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida in 2019 and was honored with the Dean’s Medal of Excellence upon graduation. While in Gainesville, she was an intern with the Alachua County Clerk of Court and a research intern for the University of Florida Student Legal Services. She aspires to have a career in environmental law to protect Florida’s natural habitats, advance clean energy alternatives, and much more. During her time at FSU Law, Caroline has reinstated OUTlaw, the LGBTQ+ student organization, served as an Articles & Notes Editor on the Journal of Land Use & Environmental Law, and was a Student Advisor for Raising the Bar, Professionalism Program. Through these and other experiences, she has had the pleasure of serving her local communities and advancing opportunities for her LGBTQ+ peers.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Caroline will be a law clerk for the Office of General Counsel at Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission to gain more experience in her areas of interest.
Kebin Lopez
Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow
University of Florida, Class of 2023
Kebin Lopez is a rising third-year law student at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Born in Honduras and raised in South Carolina, Kevin is a proud Dreamer. He graduated from Armstrong State University in Savannah, Georgia with a degree in Economics. During his 1L summer, Kebin interned at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic at Greater Boston Legal Services where he assisted in filing U-Visas and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions for indigent clients in the Greater Boston Area. Kebin considered the most important part of his internship to be the building of a relationship with the clients and to make sure that they were seen, heard, and felt validated throughout the process. Kebin has a strong passion for providing defense to indigent clients and valuing their human dignity and agency. After graduation, he hopes to continue this by becoming a Public Defender. At UF Law, Kebin is the Secretary of the Latino Law Students Association, a teaching assistant for Legal Writing I & II, and is the Executive Articles Editor of the Florida Entertainment and Sports Law Review.
Barbara Silverman and John Kozyak generously selected Kebin as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2021. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Kebin will work at the Augusta Georgia Public Defender’s Office.
Kyle Ridgeway
Stetson, Class of 2023
Kyle Ridgeway is a first-year law student at Stetson University College of Law. Kyle serves as the President of the International Law Society, the Vice President of the American Constitution Society – Stetson Law chapter, and Secretary of the Lambda Legal Society. He is an advocate for civil rights, greater diversity and inclusion in the legal field, and social justice.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Kyle will work as a law clerk with the Southern Legal Counsel and focus on ending homelessness, promoting LGBTQ equality, and protecting civil rights.
Lucia Rodriguez
Hunton Andrews Kurth Summer Fellow
NOVA Southeastern University
Lucia E. Rodriguez is a rising third-year law student at Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad College of Law. Lucia is a first-generation college graduate and law student. Before attending law school, Lucia earned her degree in Dance from Florida State University. She performed in New York City, Japan, South Africa, and Germany as a professional ballerina. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Lucia has volunteered in her community teaching ballet and plans to practice there. At Nova Southeastern University, Lucia has earned the CALI Highest Grade Award (Book) in Contracts, Florida Constitutional Law, Property, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law II, and Evidence. Lucia’s article, Filing Timely Federal Habeas Corpus Petitions During COVID-19, was recently published as a Whitepaper in the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Journal. She is a member of Nova’s Moot Court Honor Society and was a finalist in Nova’s Feinrider First-Year Competition. Lucia has made the Dean’s List every semester and is in the top 5% of her class. She has interned for the Honorable Darrin P. Gayles of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The Hunton Andrews Kurth Firm generously selected Lucia as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2021. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Lucia will be interning this summer for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Priscilla Rodriguez
Barry, Class of 2023
Priscilla Rodriguez is a first-year law student at Barry University. She is a first-generation American and received her Bachelor of Science in Criminology from Florida State University in 2017. She interned at a social services center for the women that worked in the local Red Light District (Breaking Chains Network) in Belgium, the Public Defender’s Office, and a pro-bono immigration law firm (The Center for the Advancement of Human Rights) in Tallahassee, Florida. From these experiences, Priscilla is focused on ensuring the poor and the marginalized receive quality legal representation. She plans on becoming an arbitration attorney but has not ruled out the civil rights and Constitutional law areas.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Priscilla will intern at Legal Services of North Florida (LSNF). LSNF provides legal representation to low-income individuals or families in counties across the central and western Florida panhandle, pro-bono. Priscilla will help maintain the legal advocacy manual that LSNF uses to assist their clients with legal issues. The manual details Florida law and necessary forms related to legal issues including family law, landlord/tenant law, guardianship, and more. With other LSNF volunteers, Priscilla will conduct legal research/editing on outdated sections of the manual to ensure the most up-to-date Florida laws and forms are listed. Priscilla hopes to use the experience from LSNF to better represent Florida’s low-income individuals/families as a foundation to, one day, better represent America’s
Kristin Sanders
FAMU, Class of 2023
Kristin Sanders is a first-year law student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University School of Law (FAMU Law) is a first-generation American, activist, and law student. In 2018, she graduated cum laude from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and African American Studies. Before attending law school, Kristin led groundbreaking research on Reproductive Justice law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law to halt the criminalization of self-induced abortion and subsequent incarceration of women around the world. Most recently, she served as a director at NextGen America helping to register and mobilize over 1.4 million young people to vote in the 2020 Presidential election. At FAMU Law, Kristin serves as Vice President of the Criminal Law Society using her passion for social justice to promote criminal justice reform. She is dedicated to elevating a new precedent of progressive prosecution by bridging a gap between underserved communities and the State Attorney’s Office.
As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Kristin will be working at the State Attorney’s Office for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Sara St. Juste
Pillsbury Summer Fellow
University of Miami, Class of 2023
Sara St. Juste is a first-year law student at the University of Miami School of Law. Sara is Haitian American, a Miami-native, and a first-generation college graduate, and the first to attend law school in her family. She attended the University of Miami for her undergraduate career, making her a Double ‘Cane, and upon graduating from the U, Sara was tapped into Iron Arrow, the highest honor attainable at the school. During her time as an undergrad, Sara majored in political science to expose herself to legal studies but to explore the issues involving power, justice, and equality. Exploring these issues has driven her involvement in organizations like Peer Forward and President’s 100x, organizations committed to filling in the gap of disparity and inequity through assisting high school seniors, from low-income and marginalized communities, in college preparation. Sara currently is a part of the Society of Bar and Gavel and the Black Law Students Association. Her experience has influenced why she previously interned with the Miami-Dade Juvenile Services Department, devoted to decreasing gun violence and incarceration levels among youth from inner-city communities. The issues facing these communities explain why Sara decided to attend law school: to reform, advocate, and represent.
The Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Law Firm generously selected Sara as a fellowship recipient for the summer of 2021. As a Kozyak Minority Mentoring Foundation Summer Fellow, Sara will serve as a judicial intern for the Honorable Judge Darrin Gayles of the Southern District of Florida.