Salokar Scholarship helps first generation student pursue law school dream

First generation college student Constance Lee never imagined her dream of attending law school would come true. She always felt her financial struggles would get in the way.

Constance Lee, who graduated this summer, will enter the College of Law in the fall. She is the first recipient of the Rebecca M. Salokar Scholarship.

Now, the political science graduate can pursue her dream thanks to the Rebecca M. Salokar Scholarship Endowment in the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.

Lee will be awarded $2,000 to help pay for her law school tuition at FIU’s College of Law. She is the first recipient of the scholarship, created in memory of Rebecca Salokar, former chair of the Department of Politics and International Relations.

“This scholarship has helped greatly in easing some of my worries,” Lee said. “I previously thought of law school as a somewhat unattainable goal due to my economic conditions.”

Salokar, an associate professor who was at the university for more than three decades, died Dec. 19, 2016, after a long battle with cancer. The scholarship is a legacy of her generosity and commitment to students.

The award benefits students in politics and international relations who are enrolled in a pre-law course of study. To qualify, applicants must be admitted into the FIU College of Law. An award will be given each spring to one or more undergraduate students who expect to graduate in that spring semester or in one of the next two semesters.

While Lee was pursuing her degree in political science and minor in international relations, she received certificates in National Security Studies and in Pre-Law Skills and Professional Values, a certificate which Salokar created.

Salokar also established and directed FIU’s Pre-Law Advising and Training Office (PLATO), an advising center for students interested in law school.

“I have heard nothing but praises about Dr. Salokar,” Lee said. “Having participated in the Pre-Law Skills and Professional Values certificate program, I can understand how great she truly was. I don’t think anything else has prepared me more than the program she created.”

Lee recently graduated magna cum laude with a 3.78 GPA as an elected member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She served as president of Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society and was an active member of the Black Student Union.

This fall, Lee will return to FIU as a full Dean’s Scholar at the College of Law. She hopes that after law school, she can use her degree for public service within the intelligence community, U.S. government or as an officer in the military’s JAG Corps.

“I thank Dr. Salokar, Judge Judith Rubenstein and the Politics and International Relations Department for not only helping me financially, but also helping to make sure I am truly prepared for the journey I am about to take,” said Lee.