As of April 13, 2019
2019 M. Bernadine Johnson Marshall Scholarship Recipient
Chanti A. Rene is a second-year part-time law student at Rutgers Law – Newark. Ms. Rene has a Bachelor of Arts degree with cum laude honors from William Paterson University and a Master of Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 2014, Ms. Rene became a Certified Fraud Examiner and has actively maintained her CFE credential to date. Ms. Rene enjoys working with students and providing mentorship and career planning. Ms. Rene is an advisory board member of the Career Development Center at William Paterson University and was an adjunct faculty member of the Sociology department and mentor with the Pesce Family Mentoring Institute at the University for two years prior to ending those responsibilities in order to commit to law school in 2016. In 2014, Ms. Rene was featured on the front page of the NJ Star-Ledger for a good Samaritan act that she still is recognized for from time to time. Ms. Rene intends to use her law degree to pursue a career in land use law or corporate compliance. In her spare time, Ms. Rene volunteers at the Whippany Railway Museum in Whippany, NJ, enjoys hiking rail trails, photographing abandoned railroads and spending time with her husband and three daughters.
2019 Martha Belle Williams Scholarship Recipient
Candice EgoEze Iheme is currently a first-year law student at Rutgers Law School in Newark, NJ. Raised in South Orange, NJ, she is the daughter of two Nigerian immigrants from Imo State, Nigeria. Candice attended Rutgers University-New Brunswick, where she graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Candice was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, an honor society. She was also the former President of the Illustrious Iota Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Incorporated. In her free time, Candice enjoys reading mystery novels, working out, and embarking on trips to new places. She has a love of volunteerism and makes sure to engage in at least three community service projects a year. Candice was an INROADS intern at Travelers Insurance for two and half years and was offered a full-time position during her senior year at Rutgers New Brunswick. She sacrificed her job to come to law school and learn how to become a more effective advocate for those who are unable to properly advocate for themselves. Candice aspires to break barriers to entry for African American women in the corporate law world, and one day begin her own practice.
2019 ABWL-NJ SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Nikia Clark was born and raised in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. In 2012, Nikia entered La Salle University as a criminal justice major. During her undergraduate career Nikia volunteered for political campaigns, participated in internships with the Honorable Judge Sean Kennedy at the Juanita Kidd Stout Center for Criminal Justice Courthouse and the Office of the District Attorney in Philadelphia.
In May of 2016, Nikia graduated Cum Laude from La Salle University. Following graduation, she interned with State Representative Joanna McClinton and worked at the Law Office of Levin and Zeiger. In the fall of 2016, she returned to the Office of the District Attorney as a paralegal in the Diversions Court Unit.
In 2017, Nikia entered Rutgers Law School. Nikia serves as a panelist for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Youth Aid Panel which hears referred diversion cases and develop contract obligations for youth to fulfill as an alternative to entering the court system. Nikia is also a Philadelphia Diversity Law Group Fellow. During her first summer, she interned at Archer and Greiner as a summer associate.
Currently, Nikia is President of the Black Law Students Association, and HERstorian for the Women’s Law Caucus, a member of Rutgers’ Minority Student Program and a Social Justice Scholar. Upon graduation, she hopes to work in the field of labor and employment law and criminal law where she can be an advocate for the disadvantaged.
Kerdesha Desir is a first-year law student at Seton Hall University School of Law. Originally from New Jersey, she moved to Florida at a young age and completed her education at the University of South Florida in the summer of 2017, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology. A child of Haitian immigrants, Ms. Desir has demonstrated a strong dedication to community service. She interned in Tampa at the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office with the Child Protection investigation Division and worked with Florida State Representative Sean Shaw of District 61 in his local office planning events for the community such as collections for the homeless and providing fresh produce within the urban community.
Ms. Desir’s other community outreach endeavors include working as a student teacher at local non-profit PCAT Literacy Ministries, teaching Kindergartners who were at risk of academic failure and supervising other university students as a site leader at various locations such as the Children’s Home. As a member of Fanm Kreyol, Incorporated, a local Haitian women’s professional organization, she continued to give back, participating in events raising awareness for domestic violence and giving back to the homeless. Ms. Desir hopes to make a lasting impact on the Seton Hall community while in law school and upon graduation, plans to pursue family law and work with non-profit organizations to fight for the rights and protections of domestic violence survivors and children.