With the Kostelanetz LLP Spelman College Pre-Law Internship program entering its third year, we’re excited to announce that we have accepted two new Spelman students as pre-law paralegals for the Spring 2023 semester. Please join us in welcoming Melina Watson and Nadya Lopez.
Melina is a Philosophy Major and Political Science Minor at Spelman. She participates as the Student Government Association First Year Liaison, and the Vice President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Mu Pi Chapter. She is a member of the Spelman Student Ambassador Program. Professionally, Melina was a Legal Recruiting Intern at Sidley Austin LLP, the Administrative Office Assistant at Spelman College Office of Admissions, a Georgia Student Protect Democracy Intern and a Democracy is For People Campaign Intern with Public Citizen. This past summer, Melina was accepted into the Leadership Experience Admission Deferral (LEAD) Fellowship Program at Columbia Law School. Through this program, she was granted a spot in Columbia Law School’s Class of 2028 and is expected to matriculate in 2025 after taking two gap years.
Nadya is a Political Science Major and English Minor. At Spelman, Nadya is the Student Government Association Director of Leadership & Civic Engagement. Nadya also serves as the secretary of Spelman’s Chapter of National Action Network and is a passionate member of the Spelman College Glee Club. She has participated extensively in the civic engagement and public policy space as a Civic Influencers Fellow, a Campus Vote Project Democracy Fellow, and a Spelman College Social Justice Fellow. Nadya has also conducted research through the UC San Diego Summer Research Academy on the politics of identity and how different demographics tend to vote. Continuing her research, this topic became her senior thesis, which she submitted this past December. Additionally, Nadya interned with the Harvard Law School Union Trade Program x AFSCME, where she facilitated conversations with University of California workers to inform them of their rights as workers.
Both Melina and Nadya will be joining Kostelanetz remotely from Atlanta while they finish their senior year at Spelman College.
Kostelanetz welcomed its first Spelman College Pre-Law Intern in the Spring of 2021 and has hosted three interns prior to Melina and Nadya joining. Learn more about our alumna here.
Spelman College is a historically Black liberal arts college for women located in Atlanta, Georgia, known for its academic rigor and rich history as the No. 1 ranked Historically Black College and University (HBCU). The internship at Kostelanetz is designed to ensure that our clients benefit from the extraordinary talent available at Spelman, while simultaneously promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and the tax law bar.
Following graduation from Spelman and completion of the internship, students are typically offered a position as a full-time, pre-law paralegal, with the option to spend one or two years with the firm prior to enrolling in law school.
Learn more about the Spelman College Pre-Law Internship here.
