Aspiring Law Students In Newark Earn Awards: ‘Invest In Brilliance, Ignite Change’

NEWARK, NJ — Two “phenomenal young women” who plan to pursue law careers recently earned an award for their efforts in Newark.

SHE Wins! Inc. recently celebrated the achievements of La’Shae Lopez-Duverneau and Grace Appiah, the 2025 recipients of the nonprofit’s Aspiring Law Student Awards.

The awards, presented alongside Sherman Atlas Sylvester & Stamelman LLP in partnership with The Princeton Review, were presented during a celebration in Newark.

Lopez-Duverneau and Appiah will each receive a $2,600 prize package, covering LSAT application fees and enrollment in intensive LSAT prep courses with Princeton Review – giving them a powerful head start on their journey to law school.

Both awardees showed “determination, academic excellence and a passion for justice,” the nonprofit said.

Essex County Commissioner A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, the founder of SHE Wins! Inc, said Lopez-Duverneau and Appiah are “proof that when we invest in brilliance, we ignite change.”

“They are our right now,” Murray-Thomas said. “They are the future of justice, and I have no doubt they will leave a lasting impact in the legal world.”

BOOK SCHOLARSHIP

In addition, through the nonprofit’s partnership with Antonelli Kantor Rivera PC, SHE Wins! Inc. recently awarded its 2025 “Law and Leadership Book Scholarship” to Alexis Uzoaru, a Rutgers Law student in Newark.

The scholarship recognizes Uzoaru’s “leadership and commitment to making a meaningful impact in the legal field.”

• See Related: Nearly Half Of New Law School Class In Newark-Camden Are Students Of Color

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