2L Receives Inaugural NAPABA Law Foundation SAIL Scholarship


September 8, 2020

Soohyun Stephanie Hahn

Soohyun Stephanie Hahn, 2L, is one of four law students selected as a recipient of the inaugural Sharon and Ivan Leadership (SAIL) Scholarships from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Law Foundation (NLF) for “outstanding professional promise and leadership potential.”

The SAIL Scholarships, established through the generosity of Sharon and Ivan Fong in 2018, are awarded to second-year law students on the basis of academic excellence, leadership experience, public service, contributions to the Asian Pacific American community, and a commitment to “pay it forward.” In addition to financial support of at least $5,000 split equally over two years, the SAIL Scholars also will receive mentoring and leadership development from one another and from a network of legal and community leaders.

"It is an honor and I am very thankful to have been selected as an inaugural recipient of NAPABA Law Foundation's SAIL Scholarship,” said Ms. Hahn. “As a first-generation and non-traditional law student, I especially look forward to the mentorship and leadership development that will be provided by industry and community leaders, as well as opportunities to partake in public service." 

The 2020 NLF SAIL Scholarship selection committee was chaired by Parkin Lee, retired Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the Rockefeller Group, and included Sylvia Fung Chin, Partner at White & Case, and Hellin Jang, an attorney with Dykema.

At GW Law, Ms. Hahn is a member of The George Washington Law Review; a George Washington Scholar (top 1-15 percent of class); and President of the Law, Justice and International Development Society. She spent the past summer interning for Judge Robert W. Lehrburger at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. This fall, she will serve as a judicial extern for Judge Patricia A. Millett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She earned a BA cum laude in growth and structure of cities from Bryn Mawr College, while playing NCAA Division III varsity volleyball and serving as President of the Bi-Co (Bryn Mawr and Haverford) Korean Student Association.

NLF is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation that awards scholarships and fellowships promoting the interests of the Asian Pacific American community. Since its founding, the Foundation has awarded more than $500,000 in scholarships and nearly $1million in fellowships and internships.