Courtney Chenette ’09, a third-year student at Pace University School of Law, received the Justice for Women Award, given to a student who completes the externship through Pace’s Women’s Justice Center (The National Jurist, Jan. 2012). A survivor of sexual assault as a teenager, Chenette entered college determined to become a legal advocate for others suffering from abuse. She has interned at Day One, a nonprofit organization in New York City that provides legal services to victims of domestic violence, mostly young people under the age of twenty-four. Her externship with the Women’s Justice Center’s Family Court Legal Program involved course work and the opportunity to work with clients at the Yonkers and White Plains Family courts. “Helping other women who experience violence has been both a challenge and a calling every step of the way,” she said. “I feel very empowered to be in a place in my life where I can give back to that community.”

Photo credit: Mike Falco