Community Fellows
No question is too big or small. Community Fellows can offer perspective on class preparation, outlining, exam preparation, job search, co-curricular activities, social life in Orange County and life/work balance. The Community Fellows will also host a variety of small gatherings and large events to connect first-year students with the larger campus community.
Recent Community Fellows
Samantha Abraham
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Irvine, CA
Alma Mater: UCLA - Psychology
Professional Interests: I am hoping to find my way into being a Federal Public Defender before opening my own firm with a focus on Criminal Defense.
Hobbies: I train in Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. I also enjoy reading, hiking, the beach, and trying every dessert and coffee shop in a reasonable driving distance (reasonableness is self determined depending on how much I want the item in question).
Alina Ananian
(Class of 2018)
Hometown: La Crescenta, CA
Alma Mater: UCLA - Applied Mathematics
Professional Interests: General Litigation
Hobbies: Dancing, napping, eating, binge watching Netflix
Co-Curricular: Pro Bono, UC Irvine Law Review, American Constitution Society
Molly Anderson
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Newport Beach, CA
Alma Mater: University of Washington - Law, Societies, & Justice
Professional Interests: Civil Litigation, Employment Law
Hobbies: Hiking, cooking, traveling, and just being outside with friends and family
Co-Curricular: Clean Slate Clinic, Criminal Law Society, UCI Law Admissions Ambassador
Jovan Ardy
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia
Alma Mater: UCSD - Physics with specialization in Astrophysics
Professional Interests: Intellectual Property, Video Games Law
Hobbies: Games, Reading, Food
Co-curricular: IPCS, In Vino Veritas
Sadaf Behdin
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Alma Mater: UCSD History - Political Science
Professional Interests: Real Estate Law and Tax Law
Hobbies: Boxing and volleyball
Co-Curricular: TutoringErika Bertelsen
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Alma Mater: Florida State University - BS in Sociology and History; Graduate certificate in the Russian language from Indiana University - Summer Language Workshop; non-degree seeking graduate coursework in Russian Language and Culture, Florida State University
Professional Interests: Professionally I am interested in gender equality, LBGTQ rights, and reproductive justice. This summer I interned as a law clerk at Rainbow Services, Ltd. an intersectional domestic violence center in San Pedro, CA.
Co-Curricular: Im the co-chair of both Women's Law Society, and If/When/How: Law Students for Reproductive Justice. I am also the coordinator of UCI - Law's Domestic Violence Declarations pro-bono project for the 2017-2017 academic year.Marcel Budiono
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Irvine, CA, but I was born in Indonesia
Alma Mater: UCLA - Political Science
Professional Interests: Litigation, perhaps commercial litigation or labor and employment litigation
Hobbies: Travelling, Photography, Cooking, and playing with my Husky
Co-Curricular: SBA Vice President of External Relations, UCI Law Review
Chaplin Carmichael
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Alma Mater: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Political Science
Professional Interests: General Commercial Litigation
Hobbies: Backpacking, tennis, running, reading outside
Co-Curricular: SBA Vice-Chairperson for Internal Relations, Admissions Ambassador, Business Law Society, Research Assistant
Carey Hughes
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Newark, DE
Alma Mater: American University
Professional Interests: Civil Rights, Social Justice Law, Education Law, Prison Reform, Gender & Sexual Orientation Law
Hobbies: Music, guitar, drinking too much coffee
Co-Curricular: National Lawyers Guild, PILF, Workers' Rights Clinic, Transgender Legal Name and Gender Change Clinic, OutLaw
Tro Iskedjian
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alma Mater: York University - Criminology
Hobbies: Working out, playing soccer, watching tv
Sara Kim
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA
Alma Mater: NYU - Media, Culture, and Communication
Hobbies: Hiking, eating, and pretending I'm decent at photography
Star Leal
(Class of 2018)
Hometown: West Palm Beach, FL
Alma Mater: Florida Atlantic University - Political Science
Professional Interests: Children's Advocacy, Disability Rights
Hobbies: Spending time with my kids, RVing, golfing, and eating good food
Co-Curricular: President of the Childrens's Advocacy Group, Student leader of the Education Rights Project, Admissions Ambassador, Moot Court Board Vice President of Administration, member of the Transgender Pro Bono Clinic, SBA mentor
Gabrielle Masse
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Montreal, Canada
Alma Mater: Rollins College, English
Professional Interests: Business Law, International Law, Immigration
Hobbies: Hiking, going to the beach, film photography
Co-Curricular: IRAP, naturalization clinics, Business Law Society, International Law Society, Tax Law Society
Fernando Nunez
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Lancaster, CA
Alma Mater: UC Santa Cruz; Antelope Valley Community College
Hobbies: Painting, boxing, and rock climbing
Peter Pyun
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA
Alma Mater: UCSD - Psychology
Professional Interests: Criminal Law, Public Interest, Litigation
Hobbies: Sports fanatic (mostly watching), dog lover, coffee enthusiast, wannabe foodie (aka. eating anything yummy), interested in art and war history
Co-Curricular: PILF, SBA, uRSA, SSI Clinic
Katie Rice
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Oxnard, CA
Alma Mater: Morehead State University - Government
Professional Interests: Environmental Law
Hobbies: Golf, talking about how cute my dog is (or any dog, really), hiking
Co-Curricular: SBA, Admissions Ambassadors, Workers' Rights Clinic
Jaquesha Scott
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Compton, CA
Alma Mater: UCLA - Anthropology, minor in Classical Civilizations
Professional Interests: Music, Food, Dance, and Netflix (typically criminal investigation shows)
Hobbies: Volleyball, Soccer, Dancing, and spending time with my siblings
Co-Curricular: Education Outreach Chair of Black Law Student Association, Programming Co-chair of PILF, UCI Pre-law Mentor, UCI Law Admissions Ambassador
Pacifico Soldati
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Portsmouth, NH
Alma Mater: University of Notre Dame - Film, Television, and Theatre; Troy University - Internationals Relations (M.S).
Professional Interests: Startups, emerging technologies, assisting veterans
Hobbies: Hot yoga, baking, cycling
Co-Curricular: Founded Future Policymakers to help encourage women and people of color to get more involved in politics
Justice Turner
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
Alma Mater: Hampton University - Sports Management
Bianca Valencia
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: San Fernando Valley, CA
Alma Mater: The George Washington University - Criminal Justice
Hobbies: Napping, raquetball, and swimming
Chris Valentino
(Class of 2018)
Hometown: Benicia, CA
Alma Mater: San Francisco State University - Political Science; Bowling Green State University - College Student Personnel (M.A.)
Professional Interests: Real Estate and Land Use, Litigation, Community and Economic Development
Hobbies: Running, Cooking, Collecting Wine, Reading
Co-Curricular: In Vino Veritas, Street Law, Community and Economic Development Clinic
Sabrina van der Linden-Gonzales
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Alma Mater: University of Leiden; Cal State Long Beach - Political Science (M.A.)
Hobbies: I'm taking tennis lessons!
Co-Curricular: In Vino Veritas, Environmental law society, international law society, and Global Justice Summit
Christopher Williams
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Alma Mater: University of Missouri
Hobbies: Music & Documentaries
Co-Curricular: BLSA Co-Chair
Joyce Yu
(Class of 2019)
Hometown: Qingdao, China born and raised, then lived in Singapore for 7 years. Moved to the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles when I was 18, and still live there today!
Alma Mater: UC Irvine - Political Science and International Studies
Professional Interests: My long-term career goal is to use my legal education to advocate for the environment and animals in organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council or the Animal Legal Defense Fund. My short-term career goal is to work in the private sector. I am currently leaning towards a transactional practice, specifically in financing real estate development or clean energy projects.
Hobbies: I love volunteering for a local dog rescue and the Angeles National Forest. I also enjoy client-based pro bono projects where I can see a direct positive impact of my legal education on my community. For fun I enjoy checking out the latest and hottest local restaurants and dessert places, and my favorite sport is napping.
Co-Curricular: Lawyering Skills Research Fellow; Student Bar Association, Director of Communications; Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, President; Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, Director of External Relations; Public Interest Legal Fund, Fundraising Committee Member, 2016-17; a variety of Pro Bono projects.