Detroit Mercy Law awards Voice for Justice Fellowship to two students

University of Detroit Mercy School of Law awarded Voice for Justice Fellowships to Joy Mohammed and Andrew Pace. Detroit Mercy Law strives to teach students to be both skilled practitioners and compassionate professionals. This Fellowship upholds the long-standing tradition at Detroit Mercy Law of service to the community and provides students with the opportunity to succeed while making a difference in the community. Fellowship recipients work over the summer as interns at nonprofit organizations.

Mohammed, a rising 4L, is currently doing an externship at the Michigan Department of Civil Rights over the summer. She will be doing legal research around bias and security procedures in Michigan schools and how this works against goals to secure Michigan schools.

Mohammed said her experience as a teacher influenced her desire to pursue public interest work. “I learned that my ability to enact change in my community and the life of my students was tied to local state, and federal law.”

Pace, a rising 3L in the Canadian & American Dual JD Program, is currently doing an externship at Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB), an international NGO which connects employers with skilled refugees around the world. He will be working with the US and Canada teams on policy research and advocacy.

“My desire to work in public interest law, particularly in immigration and refugee law, comes from being raised in an immigrant family. Hearing the stories of my grandparents inspired me to learn more about the systems that shape migration and the more I have learned the more motivated I have become to be a positive contributor in the field,” Pace explained.

Mohammed is looking forward to the opportunities receiving this fellowship will provide. “Every semester I have grown as a proponent of an equitable educational experience for all children because of the skills that I have acquired.  I look forward to expanding my skillset this summer to produce creative legal solutions to issues which affect inner city students.”

“I am grateful for the support provided by the law school through this fellowship,” said Pace.