Pledge Spotlight

Congratulations to the Pledge Spotlight awardees! Hover over the students' pictures to find out more about these amazing students.

Pledge Spotlight Award Winner is Kehinde Winful, a 2L at CU Law. Please join us in
welcoming Kehinde to our Denver legal community. We encourage you to read a little about
Kehinde and reach out to her to let her know if you have any connections you think may be
helpful to her or if you have any interests in common.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kehinde-winful-62066b153/
Interests: Kehinde had the opportunity to spend her 1L summer at the Colorado Office of the
Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Section. Through this experience she found that she
was very interested in white-collar crime, securities litigation, and appellate work in general.
She is also very interested in international law and arbitration.
Hobbies and fun facts: In her free time, she likes to listen to music and write fiction and poetry.
She played the clarinet/bass clarinet for 10 years and hopes to be able to incorporate her love
for music into her student note this year. She recently finished writing her first novel.
Background: Kehinde was born in Nigeria and raised in Minnesota. Before law school she
received a BA in English and a BS in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. During her time
at Loyola, she studied abroad in Ghana, which led her to want to pursue a Master’s level policy
degree. After getting her Master’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Kehinde decided
she wanted to go to law school. In the year between graduating from her Master program and
entering law school, she worked at an immigration law firm and spent 3 months at the Legal
Resource Centre in Accra, Ghana. Both of these experiences solidified her desire to pursue a
law degree. “I came to law school because I love language and the writing process and I felt
that the legal field would allow me to use my writing in an advocate position.” Kehinde
explains. This year, Kehinde serves as one of the Co-Presidents of the Black Law Students
Association. She also serves as a class of 2022 representative on the Loan Repayment
Assistance Program Committee. What excites Kehinde the most about these positions is the
opportunity for leadership and the ability to sharpen her verbal advocacy skills.

Kehinde Winful, CU Law

Pledge Spotlight Award Winner is Sarah Graves. Sarah Graves is a 2L at the
University of Denver. Please join us in welcoming Sarah to our Denver legal community. We
encourage you to read a little about Sarah and reach out to her to let her know if you have any
connections you think may be helpful to her or if you have any interests in common.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-e-graves-4310a1137/
Interests: Sarah is interested in employment law and litigation.
Hobbies: She loves slow and steady distance running, sending snail mail, and reading
contemporary fiction. She’s currently trying to track down the best ice cream in Denver.
Background: Sarah grew up in Connecticut but spent a summer leading hiking trips for
teenagers in the Colorado Rockies and then decided to make Colorado her home. At Hamilton
College she majored in English, minored in Spanish and environmental studies, and played on
the women’s rugby team. She also worked in Hamilton’s community service office and values
bridging communities around her. Prior to law school she spent a year as an AmeriCorps
volunteer teaching English language arts to middle schoolers in a historically disenfranchised
school district. She then worked as a development professional writing grant applications and
fundraising for a charter school management organization. At DU she is a staff editor on Denver
Law Review, co-chair of the Honor Board, and a peer mentor.

Sarah Graves, DU Law

Pledge Spotlight Award Winner is Alex Espina, a 2L at CU Law. Please join us in
welcoming Alex to our Denver legal community. We encourage you to read a little about Alex
and reach out to him to let him know if you have any connections you think may be helpful to
him or if you have any interests in common.
Interests: Medical, pharmaceutical, immigration.
Background: Alex grew up in Upstate New York, was raised in a single-parent household by his
Dad, a Filipino-American immigrant. After spending most of his childhood wrestling, exploring
by bike, and fighting with his older brother, he moved to Boston to attend Massachusetts
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. In Boston, he earned his undergrad degree in
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business. After graduation, he worked at a cancer genomics
company, helping cancer patients and their care team navigate treatment options identified
based on the genomic makeup of their disease. Just before law school, he also managed health
information systems for a mid-size medical practice. Eventually, he began looking into ways to
broaden his scope of positive impact. Soon, he started considering law school as a way to do
that. After being admitted at Colorado Law and experiencing the community during my visit, he
knew where I was headed. “In the past year at Colorado Law, I've changed drastically for the
better,” Alex says, “Not only do I feel well on my way to ‘thinking like a lawyer’, but I've grown
through new types of adversity, and worked on many meaningful projects/cases.’ Alex has
started work at an immigration firm this summer but is hoping to gain exposure to and
experience in many other areas of law as I work through the rest of my time at Colorado
Law, and prepare for the time beyond.

Alex Espina, CU Law

Pledge Spotlight Award Winner is Sarah Thomas. Sarah Thomas is a rising 2L at the
University of Colorado Law School. Please join us in welcoming Sarah to our Colorado legal
community. We encourage you to read a little about Sarah and reach out to her to let her know
if you have any connections you think may be helpful to her or if you have any interests in
common.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-thomas-02b441100/
Passions: Promoting women in the legal profession.
Interests: Sarah is interested in exploring various aspects of corporate and transactional law,
including regulation and compliance, health law, and employment law.
Hobbies: Sarah enjoys playing volleyball with friends, crafting, and exploring Colorado.
Sarah was born and raised in Westminster, Colorado. She earned her undergraduate degree
from Case Western Reserve University, where she graduated with her B.A. in Political Science
and Economics and a minor in Spanish Language in 2019. Despite the appeal of staying in
Cleveland after graduation, Sarah knew she wanted to return to Colorado to pursue her legal
career. “I came to law school because I knew I wanted a fast-paced job where I would
constantly problem-solve learn new things. I also wanted to be able to have a positive impact
on the community and state I grew up in,” Sarah explains. As a member of the CU Women’s
Law Caucus Board, Sarah is passionate about promoting women in the legal profession. She is
especially excited to work with high school and undergraduate students across Colorado to
introduce them to the legal profession at WLC’s annual Women in Law Day. This past summer,
Sarah had the opportunity to work as a legal intern at the State Court Administrator’s Office
and as a judicial intern to the Honorable Michael J. Vallejos in the Second Judicial District Court.

Sarah Thomas, CU Law

Pledge Spotlight Award Winner is Cerridwyn Nordstrom. Cerridwyn is a rising 2L at
the Sturm College of Law. Please join us in welcoming Sarah to our Colorado legal community.
We encourage you to read a little about Sarah and reach out to her to let her know if you have
any connections you think may be helpful to her or if you have any interests in common.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cerridwyn-nordstrom-644a2516a/
Interests: Disability advocacy, tort litigation, employment law, entrepreneurship
Hobbies: Cerridwyn is a Colorado native and spent the summer working on her small business,
Blind Hippie Art. In her free time, Cerridwyn spends her time hiking, advocating, and creating
art.
Background: Cerridwyn is a representative for the Student Bar Association and is a member of
the National Association of Blind Lawyers, the National Association of Guide Dog Users, and the
First Generation Law School Alliance. In the Fall, Cerridwyn will be interning with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission. She is interested in Disability Advocacy and Tort
litigation. Prior to law school, Cerridwyn earned her undergraduate degree from the Colorado
State University where she graduated with a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in US
government law and policy, a minor in Sociology, and a minor in Entrepreneurship and
Innovation from CSU College of Business. During college, Cerridwyn was heavily involved in the
Associated Students of Colorado State University and was the President of the Poudre Valley
chapter of the National Federation of the Blind.

Cerridwyn Nordstrom, DU Law

the "Pledge" is a Colorado non-profit organization whose members are law firms, non-profit organizations, and legal departments of various corporate entities that are signatories to the Pledge.