Student and Alumni Stories
Chicago-Kent is home to an amazing community, with a diverse range of interests and backgrounds. Browse our stories below for pictures and perspectives from our students, recent graduates, and alumni of note.
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Goliath Tamer
- Environmental and Energy Law 1988
Those who know Keith Harley '88 call him cerebral, stoic. He shies from the spotlight. During meetings and depositions, he maintains a poker face as he patiently inscribes notes. “I’ve...
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Meet Micah McClendon-Smith, Class of 2021
- Criminal Litigation 2021
Go to work for the state’s attorney’s office, or the public defender? On one hand, it was a simple choice of internships—a short-term stint. On the other, Micah McClendon saw...
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A Trailblazing Defender of Disability Rights
- Public Interest Law 2021
There was a time, between going to school and working three jobs, when Natasha Crespo had to take a hard look at her priorities. The first in her family to...
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Helping People Find Their Voices
- Labor and Employment Law 2021
For Roberto Martinez ’21, it was all about telling peoples’ stories. He excelled at interviews, getting clients to open up. “There’s so much need for understanding, and it goes beyond...
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The "Top Gun" Champion of Trial Advocacy
- Criminal Litigation 2022
Zoe Appler ’22 won the 2021 edition of the renowned Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition, which pits the best of the best trial advocates in the country against each...
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Meet the 2022 Law Student of the Year
- Labor and Employment Law '22
As a hair salon owner, Katherine Hanson would listen to women talk about safety issues or discrimination they’d experienced on their jobs. The single mother decided to do more: enrolling in Chicago-Kent and starting a support group for parenting students as well as a 501c3 to provide additional resources. She's also excelled academically: becoming editor of the Law Review, serving on the Executive Board of the Student Bar Association, and winning multiple writing awards.
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Meet Ashley Marie Sutherland, Class of 2023
- Patent Law 2023
Ashley Marie Sutherland ’23 has transformed herself from a gardener and grant writer to an aspiring patent attorney—with a hefty dose of entrepreneurship in between. With an award-winning startup under...
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Helping Others Through a Career in Law
- (LAW ’21)
For Roberto Martinez (LAW ’21), it was all about telling peoples’ stories. He excelled at interviews, getting clients to open up. “There’s so much need for understanding, and it goes...
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Promoting Justice and Fairness
- (LAW ’18)
In the final year of her exceptional law school career, Jun Qiu (LAW ’18) was named one of National Jurist’s 20 “Law Students of the Year” in 2018 for her...
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Fighting for Equality
- (LAW ’19)
Elisabeth Hieber (LAW '19) has already made an impact in improving the lives of transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people. As a student, Hieber drafted a new amendment to the...