Rutgers Law School proudly celebrates the Class of 2026, a remarkable cohort of graduates shaped by determination, leadership, and resilience. Representing diverse backgrounds and aspirations, these emerging legal professionals have made their mark both inside and outside the classroom in Camden and Newark. Their individual journeys highlight how a Rutgers Law education prepares students for impactful legal careers:
Zachery Abunemeh | Tabina Adam | Megan Adams | Mehrin Ali | Tristan Anderson | Isabel Ballester | Aminata “Mimi” Diallo | Shumate Dougherty | Kevon Elsey | Chyanne Rhodes | Kerry Robinson | Zachary Rozano
Name: Zachery Abunemeh
Hometown: Philadelphia, Mississippi
Previous degree: Mississippi State University
Family firsts: First-generation American, First-generation college graduate
Law school highlights: Dean’s List, JIOP Stipend 2024, 2024 YLD Diversity Scholarship, 2024 NJMLA Scholarship, Dean George Stiles Harris Scholarship, Helen & Mark Hankin Scholarship
Plans after graduating: “I am clerking with the Honorable Judge DePersia in Gloucester, New Jersey, for the 2026-2027 term. Afterwards, I plan on serving my community and continuing my interest in criminal law as a criminal defender.”
Career Goal: “I view the law as a weapon with the express purpose of oppressing minority communities and keep them disenfranchised. My primary goal within my legal journey is to utilize such in reverse - by and for the protection of marginalized folk. I want to be one of many who challenge the homogeneity of law and oppression, offering respite.”
“As a Palestinian refugee, my life is shaped by forces larger and stronger than myself, who wish to erase, consume, and vilify my family's history, heritage, struggle, and existence. My degree affords me great power, which furthers my greater responsibility to defend and serve those involved in joint struggle of oppression here within the U.S. The systems running today that have wronged my family and others will not topple from my individual actions alone, and so I find solace in the Quran's teaching amongst this path - "whoever takes a life... it will be as if they killed all of humanity; and whoever saves a life, it will be as if they saved all of humanity." This is the ethos that compels me to work towards a world where my family, friends, community, and those that I have yet to be in community with, flourish without oppression.”
Name: Tabina Adam
Hometown: Georgetown, Guyana; Rockaway, New Jersey
Previous degrees: Rutgers University (Honors College), Columbia University, Seton Hall University
Law school highlight: Merit scholarship recipient
Fun fact: “As an evening student, I completed law school while serving full-time as a school principal, raising three children, and welcoming two more—with the steadfast support of my husband, mother, and the Rutgers community.”
Plans after graduating: “I will continue leading in education, integrating my legal training into compliance, policy, and student advocacy.”
Career Goal: To transition into public interest law, advancing equitable access to opportunity for underserved communities.
“Grit drives achievement. Success is not reserved for the privileged or the naturally gifted, but for those who persist with discipline and purpose. Throughout law school, grit carried me as I balanced leading a school, motherhood, pregnancy, childbirth, and rigorous academics, ultimately allowing me to graduate a semester early. It has been the foundation of every significant milestone in my life, and it is the quality I am committed to instilling in those I serve.”
Name: Megan Adams
Hometown: Wenonah, New Jersey
Previous degrees: American University
Law school highlights: National Association of Women Lawyers Award (Class of 2026 Graduation Award), Judge James Hunter III Memorial Advanced Appellate Advocacy Board Co-Chair, Judge James Hunter III Memorial Advanced Appellate Advocacy Competition Award: Best Brief for Defendant-Appellant, First-Year Writing Award from Distinguished Clinical Professor of Law Sarah E. Ricks, Women's Law Caucus Mary Philbrook Chair
Fun fact: Megan's grandmother worked at the Rutgers Law library in Camden for 25 years until her retirement in 2004. Click here to read the story.
Plans after graduating: Incoming Law Clerk to The Chief Magistrate Judge Daryl F. Bloom, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Career Goal: "I hope to continue on a path of clerkships and eventually become a litigator, with a particular interest in civil rights litigation. My ultimate goal is to bring those experiences into the classroom as a professor and mentor to future advocates."
"Rutgers Law School changed my life. To my mentors whom I can never adequately repay, I promise to pay it forward."
Name: Mehrin Ali (Elected as the 2026 Newark Commencement Student Speaker)
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Previous degree: New York University
Family firsts: First-generation American; First-generation law student
Law school highlights: Student Bar Association president, MSP Scholar, South Asian Law Students Association president ‘23-24 & Founder, Center for Security Race and Rights law fellow, Housing Justice & Tenant Solidarity Clinic, Recipient of the Eric Neisser Public Interest Summer Scholarship and Philip J. Levin Law Scholarship, International Law & Human Rights Journal Administrative Editor
Plans after graduating: Clerking for Judge Hany Mawla, the Presiding Judge in the Appellate Division in Trenton, New Jersey
Career Goal: “Be a public interest attorney!”
“Thank you, Rutgers, for a transformative journey over these last three years. I am truly grateful not only for the academic and professional development I gained here, but also for the lifelong friendships and memories. I will always choose Rutgers!”
Click here to watch Mehrin's Power of Attorney podcast with Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond and SBA Camden President Isabel Ballester
Name: Tristan Anderson
Hometown: Teaneck
Previous degrees: Ramapo College, Bergen Community College
Family firsts: First-generation American
Law school highlight: Served as a member of the New Jersey National Guard during law school
“I owe this moment to a family that has supported me through thick and thin and am grateful for all of their support. Thank you to the family who raised me and my newfound family in the Minority Student Program.”
Name: Isabel Ballester (Elected as the 2026 Camden Commencement Student Speaker)
Hometown: Philadelphia
Previous degree: Davidson College
Family firsts: First-generation lawyer
Law school highlights: Student Bar Association president, Social Justice Scholar, authored note selected for publication by the Rutgers Law Review, Mary Philbrook Public Interest Award, First-Year Writing Award, Dean’s Pro Bono Publico Award for Exceptional Service
Plans after graduating: “I will work as an Associate at BakerHostetler in New York City.”
Career Goal: To help as many people as possible with my law degree.
“Graduation is certainly bittersweet. I am lucky to say that, even in the hardest moments, I had a wonderful law school experience. I can't wait to join the vast alumni network of the school and continue to support students who come after me.”
Click here to watch Isabel's Power of Attorney podcast with Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond and SBA Newark President Mehrin Ali
Name: Aminata “Mimi” Diallo
Hometown: Bronx, New York; Bamako, Mali
Previous degree: Susquehanna University
Family firsts: First-generation college student, First-generation law student
Law school highlights: MSP Scholar, IP Law certificate program, Civil Practice Law Clinic, Articles Editor for the Computer and Technology Law Journal, volunteer/teacher for the Street Law program, president of the Muslim Law Students Association, received the Excellence in Advocacy Award for 1L oral argument, participated on the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Team, published article on Antitrust and AI in the American Bar Association Law Journal, received eight scholarships
Plans after graduating: “I will be working in big law. I'll be a Business Litigation Associate at Troutman Pepper Locke in their Philadelphia office.”
Career Goal: “My ultimate goal is to become an ambassador. Before law school, I studied international diplomacy and worked briefly at the European Union, and that world never left me. Law school gave me the tools to return to it with a sharper purpose. In the near term, I plan to practice as an antitrust and IP attorney, developing the expertise and credibility that I believe will make me a more effective advocate on the international stage. The law has always been part of a longer journey for me.”
“If I could go back and tell my three-years-ago self anything, it would be: ‘You chose well!’ I didn't know then just how much this community would give me, but I got lucky. This school is full of genuinely kind people. Every step of this journey has been illuminated by professors and staff who were not only mentors but my biggest cheerleaders, lifting me up while challenging me to reach beyond what I thought possible. Law school is hard, but I found so much joy and levity here that I didn't expect. For that, I am eternally grateful.”
Name: Shumate Dougherty
Hometown: San Diego, California
Previous degree: Arizona State University
Family firsts: First-generation law student
Law school highlights: “I had the privilege of participating in the Community and Transactional Lawyering Clinic for two semesters under Professor Auffant. During this time, I gained experience in diverse practice areas, from handling a complex estate case with federal implications to managing non-profit dissolutions. This clinic allowed me to explore different legal fields while enhancing my skills. Additionally, I volunteered with Rutgers Law Associates, supervised by Professor Rothman, where I compiled comparative data to support litigation challenging unconstitutional property tax assessments.”
Plans after graduating: “I will be working at Ronan, Tuzzio & Giannone.”
Career Goal: “My main goal is to develop a fulfilling legal career while demonstrating to my daughter that there are no limits to what a woman can accomplish. As a single mother, I want her to understand that being a parent and pursuing ambitious goals are not mutually exclusive — that with determination, you can achieve everything.”
“After three years filled with challenges, sacrifices, and a bit of trauma bonding, I'm proud to walk away with a degree, lifelong friends, and an unshakable confidence that I can handle whatever comes my way.”
Name: Kevon Elsey
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Previous degree: Howard University
Family firsts: First-generation professional school
Law school highlights: Social Justice Scholar; National Best Defense Advocate at the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Team Competition; Business Editor, Rutgers International Law & Human Rights Journal, Trial Advocacy teaching assistant; Director of Pre-Law Affairs for the Northeast Region of the National Black Law Students Association; Rutgers Street Law Program; Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association James J. Manderino Award for Trial Advocacy, recipient of four scholarships
Plans after graduating: United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps
Career Goal: “My ultimate career goal is to get extensive experience as a litigator and then to become a judge so that I can help restore trust in a system that often feels unjust.”
"Coming from a family with no lawyers and a community that did not send many to college, nonetheless law school, many doubted the idea of becoming a lawyer. Despite these circumstances, I never wavered in my goal to become a lawyer because I knew I was meant to be an advocate in the legal profession. No matter how many challenges I faced along the way, I always remembered that even if I fell down seven times, I would get back up 8."
Click here to read more on Kevon's career in the Air Force in a spotlight on Rutgers Law veterans and members of the military
Name: Chyanne Rhodes
Hometown: Pennsauken, New Jersey
Previous degree: Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Family firsts: First-generation law student
Plans after graduating: Social Justice Scholar, President of Rutgers Law Black Law Student Association, National Secretary for the National Black Law Students Association, Associate Editor and Camden Liaison Editor for Race & The Law Review, Hunter Moot Court, CBC Power 100 Honoree, Dean's Pro Bono Publico Award for Exceptional Service
Career Goal: “My plan after graduation is to join Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP as a first-year associate in their Bankruptcy practice group. I hope to hone my knowledge and skills practicing bankruptcy as well as continue my passions for serving my community through pro bono services.”
“My feelings on graduation are that it’s bittersweet. During my time here, I’ve achieved a lot but lost a lot as well. I lost both my grandmothers in the span of a year during my 1L and 2L spring semesters. As much as I wish they could experience this accomplishment with me, I know they’d be so proud to see how far I’ve come. I owe my drive to them.”
Name: Kerry Robinson
Hometown: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Previous degree: Swarthmore College
Family firsts: First-generation professional school
Law school highlights: Social Justice Scholar, MSP Scholar, Dean's Pro Bono Publico Award for Exceptional Service with Distinction; Philadelphia Bar Association Public Interest Section Law Student Award; Mary Philbrook Public Interest Award; NITA Trial Advocacy Training Program in Ghana; Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion Articles Editor; Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) Site Coordinator and Student Leader; CLiME Memorandum published, The Nicholas and Kathleen Talvacchia Land Use and Real Estate Development Award
Plans after graduating: Fellow at Regional Housing Legal Services specializing in land acquisition for affordable housing
Career Goal: To become an expert on the intersection of law and housing and be in a position to make affordable housing easier to develop and more accessible
"I decided to attend law school after nearly 7 years into my prior career in housing, and I've gotten to do more in these three years than I could have ever imagined. The amount of support and range of experiences I've had has been immeasurable. I'm grateful to my mom for encouraging me to fully commit to law school, and I hope this degree allows me to serve others on a broader level."
Name: Zachary Rozano
Hometown: Readington, New Jersey
Previous degrees: SUNY Albany, Auburn University
Law school highlights: Completed law degree part-time while working as a law clerk at Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C.; participated in the Mediation Clinic; previously served as an Artillery Officer in the United States Army
Plans after graduating: “I will be joining Gebhardt & Kiefer, P.C. as an associate attorney.”
Career Goal: “My goal is to build a long-term practice in employment and labor law, providing dedicated, honest, and practical counsel to both employees and employers throughout Central New Jersey. Drawing from my military service and mediation training, I am committed to resolving workplace conflicts fairly while supporting the broader legal needs of the local community and businesses.”
“After over a decade of military service, three years of law school while working, and raising a family with my wife, this degree was hard-won — and deeply meaningful because of it. As Theodore Roosevelt said, "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." I can think of no better words to describe this moment, and I look forward to putting my education and experience from Rutgers Law to work in service to my community.”