CLS Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice Award
The Mindfulness and Racial/ Social Justice Award recognizes a current Columbia Law School student’s work at the intersection of mindfulness and racial/social justice at CLS and beyond.
The award includes a prize of $350 and an invitation for the recipient either to share their thoughts at a CLS Mindfulness Program event or to help plan a session on a topic or with a teacher they would like to see Columbia host. The award recipient will be announced later this spring, around the time of commencement.
2025 CLS Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice Award Application Form
Please use this form to submit an application for this year's Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice Award. Applications are due by Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 5:00 PM EST.
All CLS students (JDs, LLMs, and JSDs) are eligible to apply for the award.
For any questions or for any accommodation requests, please contact Nicole Lavacchia at [email protected] or Professor Elizabeth Emens at [email protected]. Thank you for your application.
***
CLS Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice Award Nomination Form
Please use this form to nominate a CLS student to the Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice Award by Wednesday, March 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM EST. We will notify this student that they have been nominated by someone (without naming you), and invite them to submit their own (brief) application, if they choose to do so. For any questions, please contact Nicole Lavacchia at [email protected].
2024-2025
Melissa De La Torre is a second-year JD candidate at Columbia Law School. Before Columbia, she spent years working in technology and volunteering to prepare New Yorkers for their naturalization exams with USCIS. At Columbia, Melissa is involved with the Latinx Law Students Association as mentorship chair and coach for the asylum and refugee moot court and also with CLS legal tech. In her roles, she has launched a mentorship program for Latinx Columbia undergrads interested in law school and, in April 2025, hosted a hackathon to develop legal tech that increases access to justice. Melissa is passionate about civil rights, employment, and labor law, particularly how inaccessibility to the labor economy can lead to criminalization and, ultimately, negative immigration consequences for undocumented workers. Melissa is a recurring member of the mindfulness community.
2023-2024
Jungmin Kang, the recipient of the 2023-2024 Award for Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice, is a second year J.D. Candidate at Columbia Law School, and an international student from the Republic of Korea. At Columbia, he is involved in the Queer and Trans Students of Color (QTPOC) Organization, the Gastronomy Society, OUTLAWS, and the International Student Alliance (CLISA). Prior to law school, Jungmin spent time as a professional translator, performer, and officer in the Korean Air Force.
2022-2023
Brandon Holt, the recipient of the 2022-2023 Award for Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice, is a second year J.D. Candidate at Columbia Law School. At Columbia, he is involved in the Black Law Students Association, Business & Law Association, and OutLaws. Brandon's legal interest is in corporate transactional law. Prior to Columbia, Brandon spent six years working in financial services and technology.
2021-2022
Keith Geddings, the recipient of the 2021-2022 Award for Mindfulness and Racial/Social Justice, is an alum of Columbia Law School and an active member of the mindfulness community. He has helped to plan events to expand the reach of the Mindfulness Program within the student body. In addition to his involvement with the Mindfulness Program, Keith served as an Articles Editor for CBLR and as a Student Fellow for the Millstein Center for the 2021-2022 school year. Currently, Keith is a Law Clerk at Gunderson Dettmer in New York.
