First-year law students Joanna Chen, Malik Jefferson, and Veronica Louise Mendoza will receive financial scholarships and mentorship opportunities after being selected as the fourth class of CBL Scholars.
The CBL Scholars Program is made possible through generous donations from individual and corporate sponsors including Orrick, Freshfields, Gibson Dunn, and Gunderson Dettmer.
One of the top goals for this year's three CBL Scholars from the Business Law Center is to start new companies, help innovative startups grow, and expand economic opportunity in underserved communities.
Joanna Chen, Malik Jefferson, and Veronica Louise Mendoza were selected from a record number of first-year law students who applied for CBL scholarships this year. They each receive a financial stipend and unique mentorship opportunities with experienced business law leaders and experts.
The CBL Scholars Program, now in its fourth year, promotes the careers of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and promotes diversity in the field of business law, said Evan Epstein, executive director of the SF Center for Business Law at the University of California. The aim is to improve.
“This is a very exciting group of CBL scholars who are incredibly energetic and are looking to make an impact in the business law community after graduation,” Epstein said.
Each CBL scholar has a unique history and background. Mr. Chen grew up in an immigrant family in Southern California and helped run the family restaurant run by his Taiwanese parents. She then studied political science and media studies at the University of California, Berkeley, before working in investment banking. Over the past five years, she has helped dozens of startup founders grow their businesses, market their products, and close complex merger and acquisition transactions. Her work in finance, business strategy, and marketing spans multiple industries, including consumer technology, financial technology, and consumer products.
“My passion for working in the founder and startup/venture capital (EC/VC) practice area led me to accept a summer 1L associate position at Gunderson Dettmer,” she said. “After graduation, I would like to work within the startup ecosystem and continue collaborating with founders and investors.”
Mr. Jefferson grew up in Los Angeles and said a lack of money led him to develop entrepreneurial skills at a young age. As a child, he sold lemonade on the weekends and candy to other children at school. He then taught cooking lessons to private clients as an undergraduate and landed a job as a freelance event coordinator. Mr. Jefferson, who earned his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, said he wants to change the status quo for low-income and minority communities, who are often denied opportunities in the business and legal worlds.
“By pursuing a career in corporate law, I will be able to use my knowledge to protect, educate, and strengthen the economies of communities and other exploited groups and help them become better suited in the financial field.” “We plan to help the United States take action and become a catalyst for systemic economic reform,” he said.
Mendoza, who came to the United States from the Philippines as a child, said she was influenced by the entrepreneurial spirit of her hardworking immigrant mother, who raised her in a single-parent home in Palo Alto, California. When Ms. Mendoza was applying to her law school, she reached out to former CBL Scholar Jayshawn Anderson ’23. He became her mentor and inspired her to pursue a dual degree in business and law. Ms. Mendoza, who earned her MBA at the University of Notre Dame, said she plans to take full advantage of the networking and mentoring opportunities made possible by the CBL Scholars Program.
“This scholarship represents the sacrifices my immigrant mother made to pursue the American Dream and the glass ceiling-shattering resilience I inherited,” she said. “I hope to use this scholarship to pay it forward and help inspire others to break through this barrier.”
All three students are members of UC Law SF's Legal Educational Opportunities Program (LEOP), which admits students who overcome significant disadvantage to attend UC Law SF and provides them with financial support and academic support. Provide resources.
Elizabeth McGriff, assistant dean of LEOP '96, said programs like LEOP and CBL Scholars provide access and opportunity to professions in law and business from which many students have historically been excluded.
“The 2024 CBL Scholars are extremely well-rounded and talented students of the highest caliber and are a credit to themselves, UC Law SF, LEOP, and the Business Law Center,” McGriff said.
Scott James, partner and chief operating officer at high-tech investment firm Goodwater Capital and member of the CBL Scholars advisory board, added: Students can learn about the future of business law. ”
The CBL Scholars Program is made possible thanks to generous donations from individual and corporate sponsors including Orrick, Freshfields, Gibson Dunn, and Gunderson Dettmer.
“Thanks to a successful combination of corporate and individual donations, this program has grown to become the centerpiece of business law education at UC Law SF,” Epstein said.
