2023 Awards and Honors

2023 Stanley V. Kinyon Teaching Awards

At the Law School’s 135th commencement exercises, Dean Garry W. Jenkins and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs William McGeveran, presented Law School faculty members with the Stanley V. Kinyon Teacher of the Year Awards.

The award was established by family and friends in honor of the late Professor Stanley V. Kinyon ’33, a recognized commercial law scholar and member of the Law School faculty for 40 years.

2023 Stanley V. Kinyon Teaching Award Recipients

Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year Award - JaneAnne Murray
Skills/Adjunct Teacher of the Year Award - Kiri Somermeyer
Clinical Teacher of the Year Award - Daniel Schwarcz

Student Awards, Honors, and Fellowships

Class of 2023 Excellence in Public Service
- Madelyn Cox-Guerra
Class of 2023 Most Outstanding Contribution
- Mercedes Guadalupe Molina
William B. Lockhart Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Leadership and Service
- Joshua Gutzmann
Minnesota Law Equity & Diversity Award
- Mercedes Guadalupe Molina
- Samia Osman
Lee Bearmon Award in Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility
- Calvin Lee
Steven M. Block Prize
- Jacqueline Cuellar
Federal Bar Association Foundation’s Judge Edward J. Devitt Award
- Haley N. Wallace
University of Minnesota Human Rights Law Award
- Sarah Coleman
- Madelyn Cox-Guerra
- Michael Duchesne
- Samia Osman
Sidney J. Kaplan Legal Scholarship Fund
- Jesse K. Noltimier
Mondale Hall Engagement Award
- Zachary Hennen
- Eric R. Locker
- Justin Oakland
- Kimberly Ortleb
- Kendall Prior
- Dylan Saul
- Katherine Seivert
- Kaylyn Rose Stanek
- Zachary Taylor
National Association of Women Lawyers Award
- Leah Reiss
Charles Nauen and Pati Jo Pofahl Environmental and Energy Law Student Award
- Olivia Carroll
Mary A. McEvoy Award for Public Service and Leadership
- Jennifer L. Brown
University of Minnesota President’s Student Leadership and Service Award
- Jennifer L. Brown (2022)
- Madelyn Cox-Guerra (2023)
- Mica Standing Soldier (2023)

Concentration Honors

Business Law
- Mark Kaske
Civil Litigation
- Michael Joseph Kai Ming Kinane
Criminal Justice
- Ellen Brady
Environmental & Energy Law
- Olivia Carroll
Family Law
- Layni Sprouse
Health Law & Bioethics
- Claire Colby
Human Rights Law
- Madyson Turner
Immigration Law
- Mrynna Rutan
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
- Justin Oakland
Labor & Employment Law
- Robert Lindsay
- Dustin Loosbrock

Scholars & Fellows

Judge Pamela G. Alexander ‘77 & Michael J. Davis ‘72 Fellowship
- Julia Silverstein
Cooper Fellowship
- Lexie Robinson
- Cedar Weyker
Dean Carl Auerbach Public Interest Summer Fellowship
- Justice Shannon
Fredrikson & Byron Fellowship
- Eric Rogers
Human Rights Center Fellowship
- MB Apker
- Anna Bachan
- Madelyn Cox-Guerra
- Jacqueline Cuellar
- Ben Gleekel
- Faith Hemingway
- Eleanor Sara-Josephine Khirallah
- Shelby Lauzon
- Robert Lindsay
- Bailey Martin
- Laura Milstein
- Amy Ortega
- Maria Saracino-Lowe
John W. Mooty Public Service Summer Fellowship
- Trish Palermo
- Leah Reiss
Robina Public Interest Scholars
- Caleb A. Johnson
- Jennifer L. Melton
- Mercedes Guadalupe Molina
- Caleb Nigrin
- Alex O’Connor
- Ricardo Gabriel Perez
- Kendall Prior
- Leah Reiss
- Anika Tasnim Reza
- Kate Tallmadge
- Rhianna Torgerud
- Melissa L. Watton
Robina Public Interest Summer Fellowships
- Jack Atterberry
- Samantha Buckman
- Ryann Freeman
- Joshua Gutzmann
- Bailey Martin
- Jesse K. Noltimier
- Alex O’Connor
- Ricardo Gabriel Perez
- Jared Patrick Roland
- Warren Sexson
- Justice Shannon
- Benjamin Siroky
- Stephanie Terra
- Rhianna Torgerud
- Haley N. Wallace
Robins Kaplan Public Service Fellowship
- Kenneth Cooper
- Alex Feltes
- Alex Gust
- Michael Joseph Kai Ming Kinane
- Grace Moore
- Antonio Sanchez
- Mica Standing Soldier
Saeks Fellows - Saeks Public Interest Residency Program
- Grace Anderson
- Natalie Bielenberg
- Ryann Freeman
- Ben Gleekel
- Jessica Keller
- Lanie Krause
- Jennifer L. Melton
- Grace Moore
- Lexie Robinson
- Mica Standing Solider
- Alida Morgan Weidensee
- Emanual Williams
Justice John Paul Stevens Fellowship
- Sadie Betting
- Srishtee Dear
- Eleanor Sara-Josephine Khirallah
- Erik Thorsheim
- Haley N. Wallace
- Eric Weathers
Warren Spannaus Public Interest Fellowship
- Caleb A. Johnson

Law Clinic Awards

Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Outstanding Student Award
- UJ Bhowmik
Kent Wennerstrom Award
- Dylan Saul

Journal Awards

Minnesota Law Journal of Law & Inequality

Outstanding Editor Award
- Grace Moore
Spirit Award
- Sarah Coleman
- Madelyn Cox-Guerra
- Mercedes Guadalupe Molina
- Cedar Weyker

Minnesota Journal of International Law

Outstanding Editor Award
- Noah Hummel-Hall
Spirit Award
- Michael Duchesne

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

Outstanding Editor Award
- Chase Webber

Minnesota Law Review

Minnesota Law Review Volume 35 & 36 Memorial Award: Excellence in Writing
- Jacqueline Cuellar
- Theresa Green
- Joshua Gutzmann
Stinson LLP Writing Award
- Calvin Lee
- Jesse K. Noltimier
- Sharon (Xiaoyuan) Zhou

Moot Court and Competition Team Awards

Harold Will Cox Award, Best Oralist, Maynard Pirsig Honors Tournament (2021)
- Anika Tasnim Reza
Clary Cup, Best Oralist
- Leah Reiss
Dorothy O. Lareau Award, Best Brief, Maynard Pirsig Honors Tournament
- Maria McDonough
Dorothy O. Lareau Award for 1L Best Brief by Section
- Olivia Carroll
- Joshua Gutzmann
- Jesse K. Noltimier
- Steven Vogel

Law School Public Service Program

The Law School Public Service Program (LSPSP) promotes an ethic of public service in Minnesota law students and increases the availability of legal services to clients with limited access to justice. A collaborative effort of the Minnesota Justice Foundation (MJF), the Minnesota law schools, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), and legal service providers throughout Minnesota, LSPSP encourages all Minnesota law students to complete 50 hours of law-related volunteer service during their law school careers. With thanks to MJF for matching students to placements that best fit their interests and goals, we are pleased to congratulate those members of the University of Minnesota’s Class of 2023 who enthusiastically have met the Law School Public Service Program challenge.

Juris Doctor Graduates

Andrew Beirne*
Sadie Betting
Victoria Blakeborough
Sarah Brickson*
Jennifer L. Brown
Sarah Coleman*
Madelyn Cox-Guerra*
Jacqueline Cuellar
Srishtee Dear
David C. Edholm*
Kylee Evans*
Ryann Freeman*
Ben Gleekel
Rachel Glissmann
Joshua Gutzmann*
Faith Hemingway
Zack Hennen
Eleanor Sara-Josephine Khirallah*
Michael Joseph Kai Ming Kinane*
Shelby Lauzon
Calvin Lee*
Greg Lee*
Jack Lemkuil*
Kristen Lewis
Marine Loison
Bailey Martin
Hannah McDonald
Scott Meehan
Connor Meinke
Jennifer L. Melton
Laura Milstein
Mercedes Guadalupe Molina*
Molly Nelson-Regan
Thao Nguyen
Michael Nottke*
Alayna Marie O'Bryan*
Joo Hee Park
Claire Paulsen
Valerie Perkins*
Emma Peterson*
Kendall Prior*
Leah Reiss
Anika Tasnim Reza*
Lexie Robinson*
Jared Patrick Roland*
Christopher Ruiz
Mrynna Rutan
Kate Seivert
Sonja Smerud*
Megan L. Stembridge
Zachary Taylor
Stephanie Terra*
Alida Morgan Weidensee

LL.M. Graduates

Anil Can Cetinkaya
Carla Lim
Yang-bai Lin
Ting Meng
Maureen Orihuel
Furkan Ozkundakci
Anzario Bernard Serrant
Zohreh Zakiani

* Performed 100 or more hours of law-related public service

Class of 2023 Law Council Members

UJ Bhowmik
Laura Gustafson
Joshua Gutzmann
Mary Hill
Victor Hugo Jimenez
Eric R. Locker
Jennifer L. Melton
Caleb Nigrin
Shonice Pooniwala
Christopher Porter
Anzario Bernard Serrant

(includes all students who served at least one year)

Professional Essentials Milestone

Andrew Beirne
Sadie Betting
Natalie Bielenberg
Jennifer L. Brown
William Brunner
Sarah Cohen
Sarah Coleman
Carli Cortina
Madelyn Cox-Guerra
Jacqueline Cuellar
Karissa Grapes
Theresa Green
Joshua Gutzmann
Zack Hennen
Joshua N. Jyring
Min Ji Kim
Kristen Lewis
Marine Loison
Andrew McGill
Mason Medeiros
Hongrui Miao
Joo Hee Park
Nicholas Penn
Emma Peterson
Sydnie Peterson
Kendall Prior
Jared Patrick Roland
Kate Seivert
Kaylyn Rose Stanek
Hayley Steele
Zachary Taylor
Madison R. Wadsworth
Haley N. Wallace
Melissa L. Watton
Giselle Webber
Sharon (Xiaoyuan) Zhou