For the second year in a row, a CWRU law student was named a National Jurist Law Student of the Year. The publication announced this week that 3L Emily Worline was selected for the prestigious honor.
"We believe Emily possesses the rare qualities that the National Jurist Student of the Year Honor was designed to showcase," Co-Deans Jessica Berg and Michael Scharf wrote in their letter nominating Worline for the award. "Her story is inspirational and her commitment and service to refugees is unmatched. She has made an indelible impact on our law school and is sure to be a national leader in the field of immigration law."
Before coming to the Law School, Worline worked at a refugee camp in Greece, where thousands of people fleeing violence and insecurity had been placed in horrendous conditions. Spurred by the things that she saw there, Worline founded Refugee Outreach Collective (ROC), a nonprofit that works with universities to leverage resources for individuals who have experienced forced displacement.
Worline says "I enrolled in CWRU School of Law because I knew with its nationally ranked international law program it could help me grow the non-profit and equip me to one day be a leader in the field of immigration law." ROC quickly grew into one of the most popular student organizations on campus, while simultaneously expanding to nine chapters at other universities across the country and around the world. Partnering with our Kramer Law Clinic, ROC has helped over 140 individuals apply for work authorization in the United States.
Worline is now in her third year of law school, but she plans to keep ROC alive by continuing to lead the organization and serving as an immigration law attorney in Michigan, after she graduates. "It’s a way to give back," she said, for what ROC has given her. “ROC has provided me many unique opportunities to learn from people from all over the world.”
Three other CWRU School of Law students, Sydney Warinner (LAW '23), Clare Shin (LAW '21) and Allison Epperson (LAW '18), have also won the award—making CWRU the law school with the most National Jurist Student of the Year winners since the award was established in 2016.