The Peggy Browning Fund has selected Stephen Dodd LAW ’18 and Vitoria Medeiros LAW ’19 for its 2017 class of Summer Fellows from among a pool of almost 400 applicants nationwide. Dodd and Mederios will join 78 other law students across the country in using their fellowships to pursue work on workers’ rights and labor law issues in their community.
“Peggy Browning Fellowships are among the most prestigious opportunities available to law students working in this space,” said Lisa Hurlbutt, Director of Public Interest Programs. “We’ve been fortunate here at Temple to have students named as Peggy Browning Fellows in five of the past six years. Stephen and Vitoria, each of whom is clearly qualified in their own right, join a growing community of Temple lawyers recognized by the Peggy Browning Fund for their commitment to workers’ rights issues.”
The Peggy Browning selection process is highly competitive. Peggy Browning Fellows are distinguished students who have not only excelled in law school but who have also demonstrated their commitment to workers’ rights through their previous educational, work, volunteer and personal experiences. In announcing Dodd and Medeiros as 2017 Summer Fellows, the Fund included brief summaries of what has made them stand out so far:
Stephen Dodd will be a Peggy Browning Fellow at Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 19 in Philadelphia, PA. Stephen is from Milford, PA. He went to Delaware Valley High School before moving to Caldwell, NJ and attending Caldwell University. While at Caldwell, Stephen was a member of the Varsity Baseball Team and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Criminal Justice in the Spring of 2014. After graduation, Stephen took one year off and worked various part-time jobs before he applied to law school in the spring of 2015. He attended Florida International College of Law for his first year of law school, where he achieved the Dean’s List in each semester, before he returned to Pennsylvania and transferred to Temple University Beasley School of Law. Stephen is actively involved in the Student Bar Association, where he serves as a 2L Class Senator. He has also contributed to the labor movement as a member of the Labor and Employment Law Society at FIU, and now as a member of the National Lawyers Guild Workers’ Rights Committee at Temple.
Vitoria Medeiros’s Peggy Browning Fellowship will be at Friends of Farmworkers, Inc. in Philadelphia, PA. Vitoria and her family emigrated from Brazil to the United States, where she witnessed her parents work long and arduous hours as blue-collar workers. Vitoria earned dual degrees in International Affairs and Criminology from Florida State University, where she got involved with immigrants’ rights groups and was president of her Latina-based sorority. She worked as a paralegal at the Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, where she conducted client intake at multiple civil legal aid clinics and programs. She assisted attorneys in eviction defense cases and helped with immigration petitions. At VLP, Vitoria was exposed to tax concerns, family law issues, and unemployment insurance benefit disputes. By experiencing the dire legal needs of the low-income clients, Vitoria found her passion for public interest law. She is currently a 1L representative for Temple’s Latin American Law Student Association, is VITA certified and volunteered with voter protection programs this past election.