Yamashita Scholarship
Christopher A. Wong.  Christopher is a third-year student at Seattle University School of Law where he is currently the Vice President of the Student Bar Association.  He came to Seattle just over two years ago after graduating from Georgetown University and immediately became involved in our community and law school activities.  He seeks to shape the Asian community in a positive way.   Last year, the SBA implemented the first annual Martin Luther King Day of Service and Chris led a team of 20 students that cleaned facilities and served food at the Family and Adult Service Center in downtown Seattle.  Chris served as a 1L Representative to the Asian Pacific Islander Law School Association and then served as APILSA’s Vice President last year.  Through APILSA’s hard work and board cooperation, they raised $1500 at their Karaoke event and donated the funds to the Battered Women’s Shelter.  Chris has worked on other events, including “Honoring Courage: Remembering the Japanese American Internment,” Seattle University’s Diversity Week, and the Seattle Elections Protection Project.  He is also the Executive Secretary and the New Members Chair of the Moot Court Board at Seattle University and the Marketing and Events Editor of the Seattle Journal for Social Justice.  This past summer, Chris worked at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in the Civil Commitment Unit where he handled mental health hearings.

ABAW Scholarship
Minal Kode.  Minal Kode is a third-year law student at the Gonzaga University School of Law, where she has researched and written a paper for circulation within the law school on the commercial exploitation of children in Asia.  Minal has recently completed a summer internship with the Federal Public Defender's Office and has also worked as a clerk for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.  Minal is also extremely active with various community organizations.  Amongst other pursuits, she has served as the Secretary of the Indian-American Political Advocacy Council.  In that capacity, Minal worked to launch various campaigns to educate the South Asian community on political candidates and issues.

ABAW Scholarship
Ryan Ko.  Ryan is a third-year student at the University of Washington School of Law who has been actively involved with the Seattle Asian community for the past decade.  Ryan served as APALSA recruitment chair, where he contacted minority law school candidates in an effort to increase the percentage of minority students at UW Law.  He helped organize a school-wide fundraiser to benefit the Walk for Rice campaign to fight hunger.  He is a student advocate for UW’s Immigrant Families Advocacy Project where he assists immigrant victims of domestic violence.  Ryan volunteers to assist the fund-raising efforts of Kin On Health Care Center, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, and Chinese Information and Service Center.  He currently serves as Webmaster of ABAW’s website. 

ABAW Scholarship
Hyeran Lee. Hyeran is a second-year student at Seattle University School of Law.  She obtained her bachelor's degree at the University of Washington, with a major in Communications and a minor in Asian American Studies.  She is a member of the Asian Pacific Islanders Law Student Association and actively mentors first-year students transitioning into law school.  Hyeran interned at the Legacy of Equality, Leadership, and Organizing (LELO), where she assisted in the Relicensing Project, a program designed to provide education and community services to more than 2,500 low-income drivers.  Predominantly minorities, and largely due to language barriers, lack of credit, and financial difficulties, these drivers had their drivers' licenses suspended for failure to pay penalties on minor traffic tickets, further exasperating their inability to adequately support themselves and their families.  The Relicensing Project helped these drivers restore their driving privileges.  Hyeran continues to be an advocate for minorities as she is currently involved in Access to the Profession, a program designed to offer outreach and support to members of groups who are under-represented in the legal field. 

National Association of Asian American Professionals Scholarship
Alvin Luo.  Alvin Luo is a second-year student at the University of Washington School of Law, where he is President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association.  Alvin is committed to advocating for the legal needs and interests of the Asian American community.  Last November, as part of the Asian American Vote Project, Alvin volunteered to inform Asian Americans in the International District of their voting rights.  Alvin also helped spearhead the APALSA karaoke fundraiser to support the Asian Counseling and Referral Service.  Alvin is a volunteer for the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, and he is conducting legal research on human rights issues in China.  He is a board member of the Minority Law Student Association, and he founded the Chinese American Law Student Association at UW Law.

Northwest Minority Job Fair Scholarship 
Keith Jang-Hoon Seo.  Keith, a second-year student at Seattle University School of Law, emigrated to the United States in 2002.  As an Undergraduate at UW, he majored in Spanish with a minor in Japanese.  As a law student, he has interned at CASA Latina's Wage Claim Project.  As one of his undergrad professors writes, he is "keenly aware of the tenuous and often tense relations among various ethnic communities in Seattle...[L]eading by example, he became a bridge connecting the Asian American and Latino Communities."  Using his fluency in English, Japanese, and Spanish, he has been able to build relationships based on trust and respect with Asian and Latino community members, and assist them in overcoming their biases and lack of resources.  He has also been remarkably successful in his academic career, and balancing his studies with his student activities and community service.