I won the Damali Booker & Philip Davidson awards at VLS!

I am honored to receive the 2025-26 Damali A. Booker Award for legal activism and commitment to social change, and the 2025-26 Philip G. Davidson III Award for dedication to the law and its problem-solving role in society, and exemplary leadership in service to the law school and the greater community.

Over the last three years as a student at Vanderbilt University Law School, it has been rewarding to lead organizations like Street Law as well as the Black Law Students Association, where I have had the chance to develop community-based, social justice projects and advocate for meaningful improvements that positively shape the student experience. Often, given the magnitude of some of the challenges I aimed to address, it felt like the work wasn’t bringing about change quickly enough. Despite those feelings, however, I kept working alongside my peers to advocate both within the law school and in the greater Nashville area. To me, these awards are a testament to perseverance. Even when you may feel like your efforts aren’t making a difference, little by little, they certainly do.

I’d be remiss if I did not share how honored I am to be following in the footsteps of my former classmates Ashley Fox and Jacqueline Tubbs, two individuals that I deeply admire and respect, who won the the Damali Booker and Phillip Davidson awards, respectively, during their 3L years. Their examples helped shape me into the lawyer I aspire to be.

Finally, thank you to my 3L peers and the Vanderbilt Bar Association Board of Governors for nominating me for these awards!