Page 65 - FDCC Flyer Spring 2022

FDCC Pillars
Do you remember those times in which those words might have instilled fear based upon something that
we allegedly/ purportedly may have done while most assuredly operating under a
diminished capacity, yet without any malice aforethought? Today, we are going to put a bit of a different spin on that phrase and have it define something uniquely and remarkably positive based upon what you and our other Federation members have done over the past several years through your generous donations to the FDCC Foundation, and in your tremendous nominations of new members this year.
As you may have read in the Foundation’s article in the magazine, it awarded the 2022
Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship to Mohammed Ali Ilhan, who
will begin his legal studies in the Fall. If he is like any of the past recipients of the scholarship, he will also be making his personal mark on our profession and in his community – and after reading
his personal statement, he will be leaving his mark on the world as well. Each of the award winners
are doing amazing things in their legal careers, or in finishing up their schooling. We caught up with two of them recently to hear how they were doing and on what receiving the scholarship meant to them.
Joanna Torres received the Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship
in 2018 as a Latina law student while studying at the University of
Bernd G. Heinze
Joanna Torres
California Berkeley School of Law, and Julia McGinnity was last year’s awardee as a site impaired student at the American University School of Law in Baltimore, MD. Here’s what they had to say:
Q. What did receiving the FDCC’s Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship mean to you?
Joanna: I am very honored to have received the Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship because of its commitment to diversity in the legal field. As a first-generation Latina law student, I understand the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal field. Thanks to the financial assistance the Barb Currie Diversity Scholarship provided to me, I was able to make my dream of attending
law school a reality. I was able to spend time in law school being involved in organizations that promote diversity. At Berkeley Law, I was involved in La Raza Law Students Association where I
Julia McGinnity
served as recruitment co-chair and committee member of the Cruz Reynoso Scholarship.
Julie: Receiving the scholarship meant a lot to me because I find that disability is often left out of
the diversity conversation. When
I received the scholarship, I felt included, heard, and respected. Attending the FDCC conference last summer gave me the opportunity to meet some truly inspiring lawyers. Meeting them motivated me, and I hope they were able to learn from my presence and anything I could offer.
Q. What are you doing today? Can you please provide a brief overview of your responsibilities?
Joanna: I graduated from Berkeley Law and passed the California
Bar in 2020. I am still practicing
in California as a second-year transactional law attorney at Gunderson Dettmer in Silicon Valley. My practice focuses on general corporate counseling,
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