October 1, 2018

Michelle Park 3L Awarded 2018 APAPA Justice Scholarship

On September 21, 2018, Southwestern student Michelle Park was awarded a 2018 Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) Justice Scholarship by the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association (NAPIPA) at their Fifth Annual Scholarship Banquet in New York.

NAPIPA is a professional organization dedicated to promoting justice and to advancing the interests of prosecutors of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. The scholarship was established to encourage law students sharing NAPIPA’s mission and goals into pursuing careers in prosecution and to continue helping the Asian Pacific Islander community.

This year’s scholarship banquet was co-hosted by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and featured special honorees and guest speakers Preet Bharara, the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Grace Meng, the Congresswoman Grace Meng of the US House of Representatives 6^th Congressional District, N.Y.S.

Out of a competitive pool of applicants, Michelle Park was selected as one of only three recipients for the scholarship (a cash award and a Kaplan Bar review course). 

She says, "I had a really fun time getting to know the various prosecutors at NAPIPA's fifth scholarship banquet, particularly the Deputy District Attorneys from Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx, and also reconnecting with other DDAs that I met previously last year in Washington D.C. at the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Convention. I had a really great time and feel grateful for Southwestern's SBA for helping me fund the trip." 

"I think NAPIPA is an amazing organization that is dedicated to both advancing the needs of the API community and promoting diversity in the legal field. NAPIPA is very vested in mentoring its students and attorneys by connecting API students and prosecutors to one another throughout the US and also through valuable employment opportunities."

- Michelle Park, 3L

Congratulations Michelle Park!