Winner of the 2022 The Know Your Rights Scholarship

Biography:

My name is Hannah Eaton. I was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. I graduated from Indiana University with degrees in criminal justice and social work. I moved from the Midwest to the desert in August 2019 to begin the JD/MSW dual degree program at Arizona State University. I obtained my Master of Social Work degree, with a concentration in Children, Youth, and Families in May 2021. For that program, I had the opportunity to work with youth at a juvenile correctional facility, Adobe Mountain School.

I finished my law degree and graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif in May 2022. During law school, I was president of the Women Law Students Association. My moot court team competed in the NYC Bar National Moot Court Competition and advanced to semifinals. I fueled my passion for writing as Articles Editor of the Arizona State Law Journal. After taking the bar exam, I will be clerking for Judge Swann and Judge Cattani on the Arizona Court of Appeals. I aspire to be a public defender and work at the Maricopa County office after my judicial clerkship. I love living in Arizona and enjoy hiking, golfing, and camping around the state.

Reaction Letter:

I’m extremely grateful to receive the Know Your Rights Scholarship. I will have student loans to be paid off after law school. Particularly, this scholarship will also help cover the bar prep course and bar application fees for the summer after law school. The award will also help offset living expenses, as I will not be working while studying for the bar over the course of the summer. Advocating for greater education and understanding of legal rights is an important cause to me after working at Adobe Mountain School. While the youth there had intensive contact with the criminal justice system, they still lacked basic understanding of their own legal rights. I helped to teach the youth there about their legal rights and the importance of their own education. This scholarship will guide me as I continue to be an advocate for youth in the criminal justice system.