2024 Celebration of Scholarships and Fellowships Dinner

The Grace Venters Speights Endowed Law Scholarship

Brittany Benjamin is in her fourth year at GW Law as a part-time student in the J.D. degree program, where she is involved with the Law Review, Moot Court Board, and Black Law Student Association. She is a former law clerk for the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the January 6 Committee, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and key committees. She also served as a judicial extern for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and as a summer associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates. Brittany came to GW with a B.A. in Health Policy and Law from the University of Pennsylvania and prior experience as a paralegal, real estate agent, and apartment community events coordinator. Following graduation, Brittany will work as a law clerk with the U.S. District Court for Maryland. She resides in Rockville, Maryland, with her daughters Zara and Zion and her husband Everett. Brittany prioritizes spending time with her family and faith community and enjoys spoken word poetry, cycling, and documentaries.

Josephine R. Shepard Scholarship 

Yaseen Shah is a senior at the George Washington School of Business (GWSB), originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. Yaseen is pursuing a B.S. in Finance with a minor in Economics. At GWSB, Yaseen has held several positions, including student program coordinator at the F. David Fowler Career Center, a student lead for Finance360, and teaching assistant for Professor Bill Collier’s “Foundations of Venture Capital.” Yaseen was a GW Debate and Literary Society executive board member and co- president of the GW Taekwondo Club. He has prior work experience at the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities & Exchange Commission, Yahoo Finance, the Government Accountability Office, Investopedia, The Balance, and the U.S. Senate. After graduation, Yaseen will take a position as an investment banking analyst at Clearsight Advisors.

Schneider-Taylor Family Endowed Scholarship

Andrea Mendoza-Melchor is a sophomore at the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS). She is from Calexico, California, a small border town. Andrea
is majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications
and plans to pursue a minor in Creative Writing. Andrea is a contributing opinions writer for The GW Hatchet, an independent student newspaper. She writes about personal experiences and perspectives and enjoys covering topics that are helpful and meaningful to others. Andrea aspires to be a journalist and writer covering political and social events. In addition to her interest in journalism, Andrea is passionate about tactical and story-based video games. She is excited to become more involved in campus student life throughout her time at GW.