The Morgan Lewis Foundation selected Dejonay Tulcidas, JD ’24, and Ugochukwu (Ugo) Uche-Anya, JD ’24, as recipients of 2022 Diversity Scholarships. Through its Diversity Scholarship program, the Morgan Lewis Foundation provides financial support to promising law students from underrepresented groups.
This year’s fellowship class includes 14 recipients from eight law schools. Ms. Tulcidas received a full scholarship ($40,000); Ms. Uche-Anya received a half scholarship ($20,000).
"I am incredibly honored to receive the Morgan Lewis Foundation Diversity Scholarship,” said Ms. Tulcidas. “As a first-generation law student, this award serves as the ultimate reminder that any goal is attainable when you remain steadfast. I am deeply grateful to the Board Members of the Morgan Lewis Foundation who deemed me worthy of this scholarship."
Ms. Tulcidas has been involved in leadership roles at GW Law. She served as the 1L Representative for the Black Law Students Association. She has also been selected to join the George Washington International Law Review Journal.
She is a member of the Business and Corporate Law Society, and has competed in the 1L Negotiations Competition, 1L Mediation Competition, and Night Court. She was also awarded a certificate from the Dean of the Law School recognizing her professional development.
This summer, she will serve as a 1L Law Clerk, with Bernheim Kelley Battista & Bliss, a civil litigation law firm in Miami, FL. Later in the summer, she will be working as a 1L Legal Intern, with Dentons US, within its corporate practice group in Washington, D.C.
"Upon graduation, I look forward to beginning my legal career working for a global law firm and pursuing my interests in corporate transactions and litigation."
According to Ms. Uche-Anya, the scholarship opens up new opportunities both for herself and other African-American women. “This scholarship is very important to me because it is another step towards increasing the number of black women in the legal profession,” said Ms. Uche-Anya. “It's good to see firms take a stand, but it's always amazing when they walk the walk too. I feel so fortunate to have been selected and I'm so grateful to the Morgan Lewis Foundation.”
At GW Law, Ms. Uche-Anya has been active with student groups that include the Tech Law Students Association, Black Law Students Association, Government Contracts Student Association, the Nothing but Dicta Podcast, and the DAPP Scholar program. She has competed in the First Year Mock Trial Competition, Journal Competition, and Night Court.
Ms. Uche-Anya was a 1L Summer Associate with Norton Rose Fulbright. She previously served as a Senior Cybersecurity Consultant with Deloitte. As she looks to the future, she plans to keep her options open and to aim high.
“I have learnt to always make some room for the curveballs life will inevitably throw, so I'm not so rigid about my future goals,” said Ms. Uche-Anya. “I know I would love to rise to the top as a lawyer because I'm passionate about the law. I see myself doing a wide range of things: I could be a partner in the corporate world, a professor, or even a judge on the Supreme Court,” said Ms. Uche-Anya.
With this latest class of scholars, the Morgan Lewis Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) organization, has awarded 67 scholarships to promising law students since its founding in 2014.
“Supporting a diverse pipeline of incoming lawyers is a key part of our commitment to fostering a more inclusive legal community as a whole,” said Jami McKeon, Chair of Morgan Lewis. “We recognize these are extremely challenging times for our next-generation lawyers and our industry, so the Morgan Lewis Foundation has doubled the amount of diversity scholarships over the past two years to provide these incredibly talented law students with some of the resources needed to thrive in our profession.”