Twelve students from the WashU Law class of 2025 were honored at the recent Dean’s Book Awards ceremony. The Dean’s Book Award is given each year to a select group of graduating students in recognition of their extraordinary achievements and service to the WashU Law community. Each recipient was presented with two timeless works selected by Dean Lindquist: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.
Read more about this year’s honorees below.
Estaban Bermudez Barguil
Estaban is an LL.M. in U.S. Law candidate at Washington University School of Law, graduating in May 2025, with interests in corporate law. He will graduate as an attorney from Universidad de La Sabana in Colombia in September 2025. At WashU, he is an active member of the Latin American Law Students Association and the Law & Business Society, and a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of St. Louis. Beyond academics, he is an international equestrian athlete, proudly representing Colombia in events, with multiple national and international medals.
Mariel Brunman
Mariel grew up in Los Angeles and is excited to start a life in St. Louis after graduating. During law school, she worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Federal Public Defender Capital Habeas Unit (C. D. Cal), MacArthur Justice Center, and participated in the Wrongful Conviction Clinic. She also was the President of the Public Service Advisory Board and a student representative on the Young Friends Board for the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. After law school, Mariel plans to work to end the death penalty and advocate to expand civil rights in the criminal legal system.
Andrea Charles
Andréa Charles was born in France and moved to the United States in 2018 with the dream of becoming a lawyer. During her time at WashU Law, she took on several leadership roles, including serving as Law School President, a member of the Dean Search Committee, and a graduate representative to the Board of Trustees. She also volunteered with the immigration law clinic and studied international law. Andréa deeply values her experience at WashU and is grateful for the lasting friendships she formed, as well as the professors and staff who helped make her journey truly memorable.
Matthew Dena
Matthew Dena is from Fort Worth, Texas, and enjoyed being an active part of the WashU Law community. During his three years here, Matthew served on the executive boards of several clubs and organizations, including being the president of Christian Legal Fellowship his 2L year. He also competed for the National Moot Court team and served as a Senior Executive Editor of the Law Review. Outside the law school, Matthew was an active participant in over five different intramural sports, often competing alongside his law school classmates. After graduation, Matthew will be clerking for a federal district judge for two years before moving to Dallas to work for the law firm Baker McKenzie.
Olivia Guidry
Olivia Guidry is from Henderson, Louisiana. During her time at WashULaw, she participated in numerous student organizations. As a 2L, she served as Vice President of the Student Bar Association. During 3L, she was a member of the Community Expectations Working Group. Olivia was also a member of the National Moot Court Team for the past two years. After graduation, Olivia will be clerking for Chief Judge Stephen R. Clark in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and Judge Bobby E. Shepherd in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Aleece Hanson
Aleece Sirounita Hanson is returning to her hometown of Santa Ana, California where she will be clerking for Magistrate Judge John Early in the Central District of California. She was a member of the National Moot Court Team and a Justice John Paul Stevens Fellow. One of her favorite parts of law school was founding the WashU Law Comedy Caucus where she produced several shows. She is very grateful for the wonderful friends she made in law school, the supportive professors and faculty, and to her loving family.
Haleigh Hoskins
Haleigh R. Hoskins is a graduating law student here at WashU Law. During her time at WashU, Haleigh has been involved and served in several roles. She served staff editor and associate editor on the Journal of Law and Policy, Teaching Assistant for the Legal Writing course, as a Marketing and Communications Fellow, Student Attorney in the First Amendment Clinic, and Vice President of the Black Law Students Association. Haleigh is most proud of the work she has done as the Office of Student Life Fellow where she created and maintained community-building curriculum for the student affinity organizations at WashU Law. Haleigh hopes to continue both to maintain an equity mindset as well as pursue advocacy for the rule of law when she enters the legal field as a litigation associate at DLA Piper LLP in the fall.
Avrye King
Avrye King is a Kansas City native and a dedicated advocate and leader. During her time at WashU, she has served as a 1L Representative and later President of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), as well as the Managing Editor of The Journal of Law & Policy. After graduation, Avrye will be joining the Litigation Department at Lewis Rice in Kansas City.
Nisha Porchezhiyan
Nisha Porchezhiyan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and completed her bachelor’s degree at UCLA, graduating in 2021. Prior to law school, she spent her gap year in Arizona working at a small immigration and criminal defense firm. At WashU, she served as a Peer Academic Advisor and an instructor for the Essential Skills for Academic Success workshop. She was a board member for the South Asian Law Student Association and was an Environmental Fellow at the Sustainable Development Code. After graduation, Nisha will return to the Bay Area to work at Fenwick & West in their corporate practice group.
Sarah Spond
Sarah Spond is from Godfrey, IL, and went to Kansas State University for her undergraduate studies. Throughout her time at WashU Law, Sarah has been very involved with the student body. As a 2L, she served on the executive boards of 5 different student organizations, including Public Service Advisory Board, Comedy Caucus, and Tech and Privacy Law Society, and as a 3L, she reprised her executive position in Comedy Caucus and served as the SBA Vice President. After graduation, Sarah will be headed to Kansas City, Kansas for a 2-year bankruptcy clerkship with both Judge Robert D. Berger and Chief Judge Dale L. Somers. In her spare time, Sarah likes to kayak and play bar trivia at iTAP every Wednesday with her friends.
Cathy Vo
During her 1L year at WashU Law, she served as the SBA 1L Diversity and Inclusion Representative and represented the Law School on the Graduate Professional Council. As a 2L, she was President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, where she continued the successful Annual Night Market event she had initiated. Cathy also served as a Barbri Liaison, helping students register for Bar Prep, and was a mentor to 1L and 2L students, by guiding them in securing scholarships and summer positions. This year, she advanced to the final round of the Saul Lefkowitz Intellectual Property Moot Court Competition in Washington, D.C., representing WashU Law against 70 other teams. Cathy looks forward to beginning her career in the San Francisco Bay Area, working in-house with The Travelers Companies.
Colton Woodson
Colton was born and raised in Clarksville, TN and has lived in St. Louis for over seven years. After graduation, Colton will be clerking with a magistrate judge in the Western District of Tennessee. After clerking, he plans to litigate in private practice. His wife and Colton are big Marvel and Star Wars fan (his dog’s name is Chewie).
Congratulations to the 2025 Dean’s Book Award recipients!