Six students have been selected as the 2021 Whitehurst Public Interest Summer Fellows. The $4,500 fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding students who are committed to public service to support their summer public interest work. The fellowships are made possible by a generous multi-year gift from Bill, ‘70, and Stephanie Whitehurst.
Each year the Whitehursts name the fellowships for lawyers and others they admire in hopes that the fellows will be inspired by the honorees’ work in the public interest. This year six individually named fellowships have been awarded to these members of the class of 2022:
The Pablo Almaguer Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to Isaac Chavira who will work with American Gateways in Austin, assisting with immigration cases.
The Richard and Suzanne Burbidge Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to August Rosenthal who will work with the Juvenile Rights Practice at The Legal Aid Society, helping to represent children in New York City’s Family Court and youth in foster care.
The Lia Sifuentes Davis Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to Emily Sufrin who will work for the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Jeff Edwards Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to Rohan Shetty who will work in Washington, DC, with Public Justice’s general litigation practice.
The Lamont A. Jefferson Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to Shanti Khanna who will work with Texas RioGrande Legal Aid’s Foster Youth Justice Project in Austin.
The Jo Ann Merica Public Interest Law Fellowship has been awarded to Zoraima Pelaez who will work with the ACLU of Texas in Houston, focusing on reproductive freedom and voting rights cases.