Sonoma County Women in Law Honorable Gayle Guynup Scholarship
“The purpose of the Sonoma County Women in Law (“SCWiL”) Honorable Gayle Guynup scholarship is to assist a deserving law student with an interest in promoting women’s access to, and involvement in, the legal system by providing financial support to help defray the cost of completing his or her legal education. The scholarship is open to applicants regardless of gender, and persons of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have some tie to Sonoma County and preferably — although this is not a requirement — plan to practice in the area after graduating and passing the bar.”
Congratulations
Sonoma County Women in Law (SCWIL) would like to congratulate its two Community Advocacy Scholarship winners Vanessa Alvarez and Bianca Garcia! Through the generous contributions from former Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane, Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, and Supervisor Susan Gorin, SCWIL was able to award $6,500 in scholarship funds to these two deserving scholarship winners.
Vanessa Alvarez currently attends University of San Francisco Law School student and is a bilingual Sonoma County native. Vanessa wants to use her future law degree to give back to her community and help support small businesses, especially those who are not familiar with how the law can help them. Vanessa recently helped small business owners affected by the COVID pandemic by informing them of available loans and grants, and assisted those who did not have a social security number to apply for these loans. When asked how this scholarship will help her complete her legal education, Vanessa stated, “I am so grateful to be receiving a scholarship from my home county to further fund my legal education at USF. I hope to one day give legal aid to small local businesses in Sonoma County, since they are an essential part of the community."
Bianca Garcia is a student at Empire College School of Law and is also a Sonoma County native. Bianca worked as a bilingual Community Health Worker for the nonprofit ISOCARE during the COVID pandemic, focusing her work on the Latinx community and helping those whose lives were negatively impacted by the pandemic. Bianca is currently enrolled in the Legal Aid clinic where she continues to serve her community. When advised of her scholarship, Bianca told SCWiL, “This scholarship will help me financially be able to afford my last two years of law school and will alleviate the burden of debt post-grad. I plan to continue to be involved in community work as long as I am able to, right now I am working with the county on rental assistance, and legal aid on housing help, but will continue to look into other opportunities that allow me to give back and make a difference in our community.”
Congratulations again to our two Community Advocacy scholarship recipients, and thank you for all you do for the residents of Sonoma County. Keep up the great work!
