Samuel T. Gomez Award: Past Recipients
2020- Jeffrey Simon, University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law
Jeff Simon is a 1L student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He is pursuing a joint JD/MPA degree with Penn and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Prior to starting his degree program,Jeff taught chemistry and forensic science for three years at Passaic High School in Passaic, New Jersey, through Teach For America. He then served for four years as a Program Manager at iMentor, a nonprofit that matches high school students with mentors and supports them on the path to college completion. Jeff supported a case load of students and mentors through the college admissions and financial aid process. He received a B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Michigan and a M.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University. During his time at Penn Law, Jeff has volunteered with the Youth Education Project, preparing a high school government class for a moot court competition, and currently serves as a 1L board member for the Penn Law Immigrant Rights Project.
2019 - Sarah Lucia Winston, Temple University Beasley School of Law
Sarah Winston is a 2L at Temple University Beasley School of Law, pursuing a J.D./M.P.H. in Health Policy and Management. Prior to law school, Sarah served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Federated States of Micronesia on the island of Pohnpei, and as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions. She received her B.A. in Anthropology and Spanish from the University of Pittsburgh. During her time at Temple Law, Sarah has served as a summer legal intern with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Elder Justice & Protective Services in Washington, D.C. and as an investigator with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights in Philadelphia.
2018 - Patrick A. Berry, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Patrick Berry is a 3L at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Prior to law school, he received his B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of Central Florida, where he graduated summa cum laude. During his time at Penn Law, he has served as a law clerk at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and as a law clerk at Open Primaries. This semester, in conjunction with Penn Law’s Legislative Clinic, he is interning at the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program. He is also the Executive Editor of the Journal of Law & Public Affairs. After graduation, Patrick plans to dedicate his legal career to identifying and eliminating systemic barriers to voting in hopes of achieving a more just democracy—one in which all voices have the opportunity to be heard.