Victoria Arend, a second-year law student at Western New England University School of Law, has been named a recipient of the coveted Rappaport Fellowship for the summer of 2019. The prestigious program provides opportunities in public policy at the highest levels of state and local government in Massachusetts.
Arend is the first Western New England University law student accepted as a Rappaport Fellow. She will intern this summer at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
"The Rappaport Fellows Program offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn from and work alongside attorneys, policymakers, and law students who are dedicated to serving the Commonwealth," Arend said. "I am honored and humbled to be joining the Rappaport community, and I look forward to an incredible learning experience this summer."
Prior to law school, Arend taught French for four years at a high school in Worcester County and was an active member or her teachers' union. The Hanover, Mass. native graduated from Bennington College in 2010 with a BA in French Literature and in 2014 from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with an MA in French and Francophone Studies.
"We are very proud of Victoria being named a Rappaport Fellow," said Dean Sudha Setty of Western New England University School of Law. "The recognition honors Victoria's important work in the areas of education and labor rights and will provide excellent support toward a career focused on public service and social justice."
Arend is one of 12 law students selected for the prestigious program offered through the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy. Other Fellows come from schools of law at Boston College, Boston University, Harvard University, Northeastern University, New England Law, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, and University of Massachusetts.
"Our 2019 Rappaport Fellows are an outstanding group," said Rappaport Center Executive Director Elisabeth J. Medvedow. "As Rappaport Fellows, they will gain hands-on experience in government, benefit from mentors, and learn how law and public policy are used to effect change for the social good."
Based at Boston College Law School, The Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy provides gifted students committed to public policy careers with opportunities to experience the complexities and rewards of public service. Fellowships provide an intense, up-close, first-hand look at the life of public policy lawyers and the influence these legal professionals have on the quality of life in our community, state, and region.
