Tuesday, May 21, 2024
2024 CLEA Awards for Outstanding Clinical and Externship Students: St. Mary's Fanisleidy Martin-Rodriguez and Rocio Moncivais
Each year, the Clinical Legal Education Association invites law schools to nominate students as their Outstanding Clinic Student or Team and Outstanding Externship student. This series includes submissions from law schools celebrating their outstanding students.
From St. Mary’s University School of Law:
Outstanding Clinic Student Award: Fanisleidy Martin-Rodriguez
Fanny was a champion for her Family Law Clinic clients and the children in her amicus cases. She worked tirelessly to prepare her cases for trial. Whether reviewing hundreds of pages of documents, conducting hours-long interviews with numerous witnesses, or spending evenings and weekends for nearly a month preparing for final trial, she showed an uncommon level of commitment and dedication. Her work in clinic did not end there, though. She was a constant source of help and encouragement to her clinic classmates. She was always available to play the role of witness when her classmates needed to practice preparing their witness or conducting a direct or cross examination. Fanny is also a notary, and she would frequently volunteer to visit any client’s house who was homebound to notarize a needed document. She also took the lead in reviewing the Family Law Clinic intake phoneline. She would conduct brief intakes of anyone seeking our legal services, summarize those interviews, and present them to the director of the Family Law Clinic to determine which cases would be accepted. Fanny provided additional insight for each intake, which helped the director make the difficult decision of which cases to take and which to refer out. Throughout, Fanny’s confidence in her abilities grew exponentially. Two professors in Fanny’s advocacy class noticed her increased confidence following her great performance at a clinic case trial. They commented that she almost had a swagger, when before she had seemed insecure. That’s the power of clinic!
Outstanding Externship Student Award: Rocio Moncivais
Rocio completed two Externships including one at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. With her student practice card, Rocio set a goal to develop her litigation skills by supporting the attorneys in her unit to prepare for their hearings and represent Travis County in court. Beyond the usual research and trial prep, she successfully handled a felony plea, sentencing, and protective order hearing. Her site supervising attorneys found she excelled in communication in court and in working with victims outside the courtroom. In her final evaluation from her supervising attorneys, Rocio was praised for going “above and beyond” in her professionalism, effectively prioritizing, and collaborating with the team. She impressed them with her ability to work well both in-person and remotely, which highlights her ability to pivot and still exceed expectations. As her faculty supervisors, we observed the same high level of engagement in the Externship curriculum. She invested energy in reflecting on her challenges and skill development throughout the semester. It was evident in our fruitful one-on-one discussions and in the reflective process she demonstrated in her essays, Rocio spent her semester seeking and integrating feedback, asking questions, experimenting with new systems, and examining the role she would play in the justice system after graduation. We are proud to award her this year’s highest honor in our course.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/clinic_prof/2024/05/2024-clea-awards-for-outstanding-clinical-and-externship-students-st-marys-fanisleidy-martin-rodrigu.html
Congratulations on using your newly gained education, knowledge, and skills In your commitment to dedication to serve others. May you continue to be the rising stars and living Legacy for others to emulate. As a pillar of transformational leadership, may you continue to excel in a growth mindset, and this be one of the first of many accomplishments in the life of your legal career trajectory and holistic happiness and success. Embrace this moment, for this will be one of many by the Grace you were blest with from the St. Mary’s Community. It is students like you that make a difference by your commitment to advocacy which enables the opportunity for others to rejoice in the outcomes of the legal and social justice system by your professional leadership. Because of both of you and your supportive peers putting your hard work and diligence to the dedication of service to others they may now experience justice, fulfilled hope and peace. Thank you for your sacrifice and love of the law in action. Blessings.~ Dr. Sandi Garza-Wrigley
Posted by: Sandra Garza-Wrigley | May 25, 2024 12:05:34 AM