Pro Bono Awards 2026
Presented at the UC Irvine Law Pro Bono & Student Life Awards Celebration on April 15, 2026.
Student Awards
The following students were recognized for going above and beyond in terms of pro bono.
Most Pro Bono Hours
-
Cumulative (Class of 2026): Shannon Cheung
-
3L: Shannon Cheung
-
2L: Kristi Weyand
-
1L: Ryan Septon, Star Lu, and Perrin King
Pro Bono Independent Spirit Award
-
Mia Alvarez for her work planning a Family Preparedness Clinic
Student Leadership Awards
- Semmie Baehr – Domestic Violence Declarations
- Darla Lavi – Disabled and Elderly Benefits (SSI)
- Daisy Rodriguez – Disabled and Elderly Benefits (SSI)
- Christopher Hanna – Expungement Project--OC Clean Slate Clinic
- Sarah Salama – Expungement Project--OC Clean Slate Clinic
- Stephanie Yanes – Expungement Project--OC Clean Slate Clinic
- Adelaide Apostol – Permanency Project for Victims of Crime
- Akua Kesewa-Agyeman – Permanency Project for Victims of Crime
- Madeleine Malicdem – Permanency Project for Victims of Crime
- Christopher Contreras – Saturday Academy of Law
- Mimi Tang – Saturday Academy of Law
- Sophia Parizadeh – Saturday Academy of Law
- Samir Hafez – Saturday Academy of Law
- Ariana Keshishian – Saturday Academy of Law
- Trevor Scott – Street Law
- Ivy Koester – Street Law
- Connor Lennard – Street Law
- Lauren Wegener – Street Law
- Marlee Grant – Transgender Legal Assistance Clinic
- Jenn Hibberts – Transgender Legal Assistance Clinic
- Trevor Scott – Transgender Legal Assistance Clinic
- Sunday Tagliasaccchi – Transgender Legal Assistance Clinic
Graduation Awards
- Pro Bono High Honors (200 hours over 3 years): Semmie Baehr, Shannon Cheung, Jose Echeona III, Paulina Farley-Kuzmina, Marlee Grant, Ethan Hamburg, Christopher Hanna, Daniel Jaffe, Ariana Keshishian, Serapia H. Kim, W. Connor Lennard, Jose Edgardo Lopez, John N. Mady, Olivia Mazzucato, Hailey Montez, Gabrielle Moore, Sky Reed, Gavin Repman, Sarah Salama, Stanley Shaw, Alison Vela, Lindsay Waters, Gloria Yang, Skylar (Weiyi) Zhao-Manipud
- Pro Bono Honors (120 hours over 3 years or 100 Hours for LL.M.'s): Alina Aguirre, Ava Ahlstrand, Stephanie Azar, Lindsey Busk, Sydney Custer, Hatchly Galindo Moreno, Hector Guevara, Samir Hafez, Cynthia Jung, Logan Jurnak, Isha Khawaja, Justin Ko, Catherine Lee, Justine Lim, Jake Melton, Amar Pal, Kelsea Parker, Alisha Patel, Alisha Sinha, Hoang Tran To
Pro Bono 50 & 100 (Hour) Awards: These students far exceeded the recommended number of annual pro bono hours during the 2025-2026 academic year.
- 100 Hour Award (3L & LLM): Semmie Baehr, Lindsey Busk, Shannon Cheung, Ethan Hamburg, Daniel Jaffe, Ariana Keshishian, Serapia H. Kim, Justin Ko, Hailey Montez, Amar Pal, Stanley Shaw, Alison Vela, Gloria Yang, Skylar (Weiyi) Zhao-Manipud
- 100 Hour Award (2L): Mia Alvarez, Rene Atanous, Sarah Curtis, Seyar Gardezi, Jen Hibberts, Akua Kesewa-Agyeman, Baktash Olomi, Adel Ramadan, Mikayla Sarmento, Makayla Shapiro, Isadora Stern, Colleen Erin Kahelelani Tam, Kelly Valentine, Kristi Weyand
- 50 Hour Award (1L): Siraj Bajwa, Michael James Cardenas, Christa Cheng, Nate Cheng, Kody Chong, Laura Ciccone, Tyler Frank, Ryan Takeshi Gasha, Anah Gyselle Hennessey, Joy Herrera, Miranda Hess, Hwan Huh, Malek Joseph, Manali Joshi, Perrin King, Hayden Lamb, Madison Star Lu, Crystal Ma, Anna Nahm, Mitch Olson, Keegan Priest, Eli Roberts, Gina Samec, Ryan Septon, Grace Shin, Cassidy Tran, Addison Rae Watts, Kat West, Otis Wheeler
Pro Bono Achievement Award Winners: The Pro Bono Achievement Awards recognize all students who met the recommended number of pro bono hours (50 hours for 2Ls and 3Ls; 20 hours for 1Ls) during the 2025–2026 academic year.