Center for Social Justice (CSJ)
[email protected] | 973-642-8700 or 973-761-9000 ext. 8700
833 McCarter Highway, Newark, NJ 07102
Each year, the Center for Social Justice selects second-year students to serve as CSJ Scholars. Selected students include Fatima M. Abughannam ’24, Shaindy Black ‘25, Eric Gallant ’24, Myron Minn-Thu-Aye ’25, and Jamie Mitrovic ‘24. Learn more about the program and selected students.
Fatima M. Abughannam ’24 is dedicated to advocating for criminal justice reform, particularly as it relates to indigent defense and wrongful convictions. As a first-generation American and daughter to Palestinian immigrants, Abughannam recognizes the importance of enhancing access to justice and promoting fundamental rights for everyone, including members of underrepresented groups. Read more >>
Shaindy Black ’25 is a first-generation weekend law student jointly pursuing her Master of Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania. She plans to practice Family Law using a trauma-responsive approach. Read more >>
Eric Gallant ’24 was led to Seton Hall Law by his commitment to helping others. In 2017, Eric entered Norwich University and earned a commission into the U.S. Army. In his junior year, he pivoted in his career and decided to take the LSAT. He began his legal path in 2021 at Seton Hall and will begin active-duty service as a JAG in the Army upon graduation in 2024. Read more >>
Jamie Mitrovic ‘24 is committed to public interest by way of focusing on compliance in environmental and energy law matters, while also serving BIPOC and other minority communities around the tri-state area and beyond. More specifically, her primary plan in the public service field revolves around the intersectionality of environmental harms, disproportionate access to public services or environmental goods, and its subsequent public health effects; all of which disproportionately affect BIPOC and minority groups. Read more >>
Myron Minn-Thu-Aye ’25 grew up in Hong Kong. He majored in mathematics and computer science at Williams College and completed his doctorate in mathematics at Louisiana State University. He is a weekend student at Seton Hall Law and an Associate Professor in Residence at the University of Connecticut, where he focuses on promoting accessibility and active learning in mathematics. Read more >>
Each year, the Center for Social Justice selects students from those who have completed their first year of law school to serve as CSJ Scholars. Selected students include Sam Jerabek ’23 and Florencia Marino ’24. Learn more about the program and selected students.
Willingness to work determinedly for those in need. Perseverance in the face of challenge. These are the characteristics that define a Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice (CSJ) Scholar. In the Fall semester of each year, the CSJ selects students from those who have completed their first year of law school to serve as CSJ Scholars. Selected students include Mia Dohrmann '22, Hannah Eaves '22, Matthew Handley '22 and Prubjot Kaur '22. Learn more about the program and selected students.
Mia Dohrmann ’22 was led to Seton Hall Law by the drive to serve communities and further the cause of social justice. In 2012, she entered college in Baltimore with a goal to become a doctor serving patients in disadvantaged communities. When she deviated from the pre-medical path, she knew that she needed to utilize her passion for serving others in a different way. After her graduation in 2016, she embarked on a 70-day team bike ride from Baltimore to Seattle with the 4K for Cancer. During her journey, her team met countless individuals affected by cancer who were still determined to find a cure and help others facing tough diagnoses. Read more >>
Hannah Eaves ’22 came to Seton Hall Law to learn how to become an advocate for marginalized members of our society. Eaves has focused her advocacy on the intersectionality between socioeconomic status, health, race, and the law. “The social determinants of health affect individuals’ access to economic resources, their statistical likelihood of incarceration, and even their access to the franchise. We must understand all these variables to develop the effective tools for changes,” said Eaves. She is concentrating in Health Law, with the hopes of pursuing a career dedicated to ensuring health equity for those with who have historically been underserved by the system and advocating for anti-racist health policy. Read more >>
Prubjot Kaur ’22 is a first-generation law student who aspires to defend those disenfranchised by the current legal system. “Minorities in the United States constantly undergo daily interactions which exhibit the profound racism prevalent in our society. Racist experiences have empowered me to vocally oppose bigotry of all forms and be committed to dismantling systems of oppression to promote access to justice,” said Kaur. Read more >>
The intersection between the law and its real-world impact on families is what brought Kerdesha Desir ’21 to Seton Hall Law School. Growing up in the Haitian and greater Caribbean community, Desir witnessed that domestic violence was often mischaracterized as simple “familial strife,” swept under a rug and never publicly discussed. “In our culture, no matter how blatantly obvious the hardship of someone’s situation may be, we are taught early on to address the issues within the family and not to get ‘outsiders’ involved,” said Desir.
Sebastian Hernandez ’21 is a Colombian immigrant. He moved to the United States when he was seven years old. “My first step on American soil was at Newark Airport. That’s where my story in America began. However, my dad found a job in South Carolina, so we settled in Beaufort County,” said Hernandez. Now he is back in Newark, NJ, motivated to become an immigration attorney.
After a nine-year career on active duty in the U.S. Army, Matthew Handley ’22 came to Seton Hall Law School to learn how to make a deeper impact in his community and to develop skills that would allow him to fight for social justice and systemic change, particularly on behalf of his fellow veterans. “One of the ‘Core Values’ that you are taught on your very first day in the Army is ‘Selfless Service.’ This was nothing new to me, since I was taught the same thing by my parents growing up: that when you see someone in need, you do whatever you can to help them.”
Social Justice has been a motivating factor for most major life decisions for Tatiana Laing ’20 since she moved to Washington D.C. for college in 2012. “Being an African American woman in the most politically active city in the country at a time that included the death of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Freddy Gray and more, made it nearly impossible for me not to become active in the Black Lives Matter Movement,” said Laing. As a student activist, she helped create a racial justice organization on her campus and together with her peers, lead the students in demonstrations, protests, and teach-ins. Read More >>
Passions for service and social justice are what have brought Angelica Mercado ’21 to Seton Hall Law to pursue a career in service to her community. Coming from a family of public servants and being a native of Newark, Mercado has been actively engaged in the community since childhood through community service and volunteering. Read More >>
Hafsa Mansoor ‘20 came to law school to learn how to use the law to dismantle structural violence, empower the silenced, and restore dignity to the marginalized. In particular, Hafsa Mansoor is passionate about rectifying institutional inequities impacting women of color. Read More >>
Commitment to social change. Focus on providing legal services to those in need. Perseverance in the face of great odds. These are the characteristics that define a Center for Social Justice (CSJ) Scholar. Journalism helped lead Vanessa Pinto ’19 to her path as a CSJ Scholar. Pinto attended Rutgers University and double majored in Political Science and Journalism and Media Studies where she was involved with the Puerto Rican Action Board and she tutored English for New Brunswick’s elementary school students. Read More >>
Commitment to social change. Focus on providing legal services to those in need. Perseverance in the face of great odds. These are the characteristics that define a Center for Social Justice (CSJ) Scholar. Arrianna Diamantis ’19 has long been interested in the criminal justice system. She grew up with one immigrant parent in a family that struggled with finances. This exposed Diamantis to challenges that built in her a deep commitment to helping the indigent, incarcerated youth, and those struggling to get by, and this ultimately led her to pursue a career in law. Read More >>
Commitment to social change. Focus on providing legal services to those in need. Perseverance in the face of great odds. These are the characteristics that define a Center for Social Justice (CSJ) Scholar. Omar Debs ‘19, a CSJ Scholar, comes from an immigrant family that struggled for many years to build a life in the United States. His family was impacted by issues such as immigration/deportation, poverty, and housing. Read More >>
The Center for Social Justice (CSJ) selects Scholars each year who seeks careers in public interest, offering them an opportunity to collaborate with faculty in pursuit of their interests and aspirations. Iman Saad '17, the 2015-16 CSJ Scholar, has a passion for international human rights and immigration. Saad: “Based on my family’s background, living in Lebanon and moving to the United States...I am committed to helping immigrants in the United States as well as refugees throughout the world.” Full story >>
Sergio Suarez '16 (pictured, left) and Christopher Cochran '16 (pictured, right), are this year's CSJ Scholars, selected for their dedication to public interest law. Suarez, a native of Newark, said, "It is hard to put into words the incredible pride I feel in attending law school in my hometown. I’m in a unique position to help those in my community.” Read more >>
Antoinette Solomon '16 (pictured, left) and Sofia Iqbal '16 (pictured, right) were named the 2013-14 Center for Social Justice Scholars. They will focus on urban revitalization and international/human rights issues and cases within in the Center's clinic settings. Read more.
