Calvin  McKnight  is a  J.D. candidate  at the  University of  Houston  Law Center, where  he  is  in  the  top  25%  of  his  class.    He  is  the  Business  Editor  of  the Houston Journal of International Law, received the Lex Award in Torts, and is active in several student organizations. Calvin is a native of Louisiana where he attended Louisiana State University and received his B.S. in Engineering. Prior to  attending  the  Law  Center,  Calvin  had  a  career  as  both  an  

Engineer  and  a Project Manager in the energy industry, the area in which he hopes to practice law once he completes his J.D.   Calvin mentors 8th grade students at Lawson Academy  and  6th  graders 

 at  Marshall  Middle  School.    He  also  served  as  a committee member of Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund Oversight Committee. Calvin credits much of his success in Law school to the support of his wife, Sabrina, and his two children, Julianna and Parker.

Miguel Angel Sarkis is a second‐year law student at Thurgood Marshall School  of  Law.   Miguel grew  up  in  Brownsville,  Texas,  and  received  his Bachelor’s Degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. Post‐graduation,   Miguel   worked   in   both   Chambers   of   the  Texas Legislature.  Under Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr., Miguel worked on legislation restricting  the  proliferation  of  colonias,  residential  areas  lacking  basic living  necessities  along  the  

Texas‐Mexico  border.    Specifically,  Miguel worked alongside the Texas Department of Housing & 

Community Affairs to  appropriate  resources  providing  safe  and  affordable  housing  to  the 

underprivileged  families  formerly  living  in  colonias.    As  Representative Eddie Lucio, III’s district director, Miguel worked to re‐appropriate funds from the Texas General Land Office Disaster Recovery Fund to families in South Texas still suffering from damages caused by Hurricanes Dolly and Ike.

Heather Penning is a second‐year law student at South Texas College of Law – Houston.  She is in the top 10% of her class, was an assistant note and  comments  editor  on  Law  Review  in  Fall  2017,  is  currently  an assistant  editor,  and  was  newly  selected  to  serve  on  the  board  as Research  Editor.    Heather  was  recently  awarded  the  “Dean  Elizabeth Dennis award for Distinguished Service.”  She is also a rep for LexisNexis and a Langdell Scholar, teaching supplemental classes to 1L students in Property and Constitutional Law.   She is also an officer in the Christian Legal  Society,  the  Family  Law  Society,  and  a  member  of  several  other student  organizations.    Before  coming  to  law  school,  Heather  was  a teacher, teaching  the   extreme   ends   of   the   spectrum‐   starting   in Kindergarten and later finding her niche at the college level, teaching at Lonestar College for 8 years.  Her husband, parents, and brothers are all teachers, so she is the first person in her family to stray into the field of law. 

   She  tells  us  she  has  really  loved  all  aspects  of  law  school‐  the professors, the classes, the reading, and oddly enough, the homework. (She thinks she may be the only person in history who has ever enjoyed law school!)   However,  while she has enjoyed the role of law student, her  favorite  role  is  that  of  MOM!   She  is  mom  to  4  world  leaders,  so when  she  is  not  in  class,  she  is  a  chauffeur,  cook,  soccer  mom  and referee to fighting kids.

Ieshia Smith is the proud mother of five (5) children.  She has not had an easy life, having been placed into Children Protective Services as a young child, dropping out of school, and losing the father of four (4) of her children when pregnant with her fourth.  However, encouraged by her Bishop and Pastor, she returned to school to obtain her GED and continued on to graduate from the University of Houston Downton with a 3.5 grade point average.   She is now a 2L at Thurgood Marshall School of Law ranking in the top 15.0% of her class.  She also, somehow, finds the time to work with the non-profit Urban Research and Resource Center, serve as an academic tutor for 1L students, serve as a Student Ambassador for her school, serve on the board of the Christian Legal Society, as an officer for “Parents Attending Law School,” and as an Usher Board Member for Ministers for Christ Christian Center.  Ieshia’s plans for the summer include serving as court appointed Special Ad Litem with Child Advocates.

Fanny Turcios is a second-year law student at South Texas College of Law. She grew up in Bryan-College Station, Texas, and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from Texas A&M University. Fanny’s family migrated to the United States in the 1990s because of the Salvadorian Civil War. Fanny Turcios was the first in her family to graduate high school and university, and she is now the first in her family to pursue a professional degree. After law school, she intends to continue leaving a legacy for her family through her passion for service, hard-work, gratitude, and intellectual curiosity. Fanny was the Assistant Executive Editor in the Fall of 2016 for the South Texas Law Review and was also recently named Research Editor on the Executive Board of the South Texas Law Review. She is also a Director of the Board of Advocates, a finalist in the Fall Intramural Moot Court Competition, the 2L representative for the Houston Young Lawyers Association, and a member of Phi Delta Phi, an honor extended to the top 20.0% of her law school class. Her community involvement includes serving as a translator for the Asylum/Human Trafficking Clinic at STCL.

Gloriana Gonzalez is a 2L at the University of Houston Law Center.  Having moved here from Costa Rica at the age of three, she has since then called Houston her home. She is involved with the Hispanic Law Students Association at UHLC through the mentorship program and also as an executive board member. She is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution team and has proudly represented her university at the International Chamber of Commerce Competition in Paris, France.  Gloriana is also On the Dean’s List, competed in the Tom Newhouse Mediation Competition in the Fall of 2016, and won a special award for “Best Advocacy Skills” at the ICC Mediation Competition in February of this year.  She is presently employed as a Law Clerk for Liu & Associates having previously served as a Law Clerk for the UH Office of the General Counsel and as a Legal intern for the Panama Supreme Court-National Center for Conflict Resolution.