Congratulations to Conrad Ohashi 2L and Nicole Heffel 3L as the Fall 2012 winners of the Veterans Clinic Alumni Scholarships. Professor Steve Berenson, the VLAC director made the announcement.
“Conrad and Nicole showed tremendous commitment and dedication to the work of the clinic and to their clients, in addition to doing top-notch work,” said Professor Berenson. “It was particularly hard deciding on scholarship winners this semester, because we had one of the strongest groups of students we have ever had in the Veterans Clinic. Nonetheless, Conrad and Nicole went far beyond any expectations we could have had for them in terms of their hard work, their dedication, and their commitment to their struggling veteran clients. And, the best news is that both are continuing their work with the Clinic for the spring semester.”
"It's a privilege to be rewarded for hard work,” said Ohashi. “It was a greater privilege being able to work with the fantastic professors and the most amazing, competent, and helpful student colleagues of the Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic. Thank you for all your help."
"I am greatly honored to be a recipient of the veterans clinic scholarship,” said Heffel, a veteran herself. “The veterans clinic is more than just legal experience, it is personal for me. I am privileged and honored to be in a position to help those that served. To be recognized for work that I feel so passionate towards is an even greater honor."
The Thomas Jefferson School of Law Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic provides limited legal assistance, as well as full service legal representation, to the residents and alumni of Veterans Village of San Diego. Veterans Village is a highly successful, residential program that provides housing, substance abuse, mental health, and job training services to formerly homeless veterans who are struggling to regain full participation in society. Areas of concentration include family, consumer and administrative law. Clinic students have primary responsibility for the cases they handle and the clients they represent.
