"I am honored and grateful to receive the 2014 Leesfield Scolaro, P.A. Miami-Dade FAWL Scholarship,” said Calvo. “I have made it this far in my education because of generous donors such as the Leesfiled Family Foundation, and I fully intend to pay it forward throughout my legal career."
Calvo is committed to public service and hopes to become a top-notch civil rights attorney. She spent this past summer interning at the Community Justice Project as part of the prestigious Ella Baker Summer Internship Program. Born in Bolivia, Calvo came to the United States at a young age. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minors in Spanish and Philosophy at Middlebury College. She is currently a Miami Public Interest Scholar and HOPE Public Interest Fellow at Miami Law. She is also a member of the Charles C. Papy Moot Court Board, the Articles & Comments Editor for the Race and Social Justice Law Review, Research Assistant to Professor Jennifer Hill, Director of Equity Playhouse, and President of the Society of Bar & Gavel. Irani, who is originally from the Washington, D.C. area, has lived in Miami since 2004. In 2008, Tara graduated summa cum laude from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, English, and anthropology. While at UM, she was a resident assistant and both a senator and executive board member of UM Student Government. Irani remained involved with the University of Miami after graduation as she has worked as a UM Miller School of Medicine research coordinator at Ryder Trauma Center since March 2011. Her goal is to attend medical school after law school in order to complete a dual JD/MD Degree.
"I would like this opportunity to thank Ms. Alexandra Bach Lagos for selecting me for the scholarship in her name,” said Irani. “I am humbled and honored to be recognized by such an accomplished attorney, and I am and grateful that she values my efforts with regards to health, safety, human rights, and human welfare. She has generously contributed to my future, and, through her kindness, I will continue to contribute hard work and passion to these vital areas."
Irani is currently interning with the Health Rights Clinic, and is also a new member of AmeriCorps JD, where she is working on additional cases to represent veterans. She is a member of Miami Law Women, a candidate of the National Security & Armed Conflict Law Review, and is on the board of Health Law Association.
A summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Miami, Shalhub majored in Political Science. She spent the majority of her undergraduate career working at an immigration and litigation firm. At Miami Law, she participated in the D.C. Semester in Practice Program, where she worked for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. She has also worked as a student attorney for Miami Law’s Immigration Clinic. This past semester she worked for a defense litigation firm, served as a research assistant to Miami Law Professor Edgardo Rotman, and contributed time to working with Catholic Legal Services on immigration issues.
“Being selected as the recipient of the Friends of Judge Linda Dakis Scholarship is a true privilege,” said Shalhub. “I am honored to be recognized by such accomplished individuals in our community and to be awarded by a bar association dedicated to actively promoting the advancement of women in the legal profession. I am also thrilled to learn that I was chosen for an award named after Judge Dakis who served as a judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Domestic Violence Division. She was an exemplary individual who worked actively in promoting justice, especially for women.”
FAWL is a professional organization devoted to promoting the advancement of women in the legal profession. The membership of Miami-Dade FAWL is comprised of a diverse group of men and women who pursue the common goal of promoting women's opportunities and rights. The Miami Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers offers several scholarships to law students who have made or seek to make contributions to the community in the areas of health, safety, human rights or human welfare.
