TAMPA BAY, Fla. – The American Bar Association’s Pipeline Council has awarded Cooley Law School Professor Joseline Jean-Louis Hardrick and her nonprofit, Journey to Esquire® Scholarship & Leadership Program, with the 2026 Alexander Rising Star Award.
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Judge David Hamilton (Hilligan Class, 2012) had dreams of becoming a big-time defense attorney when he started classes at Cooley Law School in the fall of 2009. But his mom, Rosalind, envisioned her son in a different career path – a life in public service. After his first year at Cooley, Hamilton proved her right.
As an attorney one for the Judiciary of Guam, Francesca Camacho (Scalia Class, 2024) hopes to someday be a trial prosecutor, advocating for the interests of justice and the people of Guam – something she’s been wanting to do since before law school.
The views expressed in this article are those of Samantha Hulliberger and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the United States Air Force. Samantha Hulliberger (Scalia Class, 2024) didn’t just stumble upon the idea of military service or the law — her path was shaped by a deep commitment to public service, family influence, and a pandemic that gave her time to reflect.
On July 1, Russ Kavalhuna, J.D. (Gerald W. Boston Class, 2007), will take the reins as Western Michigan University’s (WMU) president. He will fill the position being vacated by Dr. Edward Montgomery who is retiring. Kavalhuna will be WMU’s 10th president and is currently president at Henry Ford College (HFC). He earned his bachelor's degree in aviation science from WMU and juris doctor from Cooley Law School. He and his wife, Courtney, have two children.
Krystle Cacci spent her whole life in government. Her mother was a judge, afterall. It was a natural progression to go into service. In college, she forged ahead in government policy by getting two master’s degrees focusing on public administration.
Adriannette Williams fights for justice as a George Floyd Foundation founding board member, updates The Florida Bar handbook and is now the DEI connector for students and faculty at Lincoln Memorial Law School.
As a shareholder of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC and past president of the Detroit Bar Association, Paul Millenbach shares a piece of advice that has stuck with him since graduating from Cooley Law School over 30 years ago: Be prepared.
Sumayya Saleh’s Syrian parents, Bilal and Abida Saleh, immigrated to the United States in the mid-1980s, seeking opportunity after their families had been forced to flee oppression in Syria. When her parents arrived in the United States, they married in Tennessee, had two daughters, Layla and Aamena, then moved to Florida and had twin girls, Maryam and Sumayya. The children learned their parents’ heritage and their story of oppression and immigration, and experienced firsthand what injustice looked like in this country. It would certainly inform their lives growing up, but it turned into a passion when it became personal.
In this episode of Journey to Esquire, founder of Diversity Access Pipeline Inc. and WMU-Cooley Law School Professor Joseline Hardrick passes the mic to WMU-Cooley Law School graduate Krystle Cacci. She is an Appellate Attorney, Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office and is an experienced policy analyst with a demonstrated history of working in the public and private sectors. Fun fact: Krystle's mother is also a lawyer and was a judge on the Florida 1st District Court of Appeals from 2010-2016.
