Academic Success Fellows

Miguel Alvarez

Section A
Professor Smith - Constitutional Law

Miguel is a second year law student. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology with a focus on Infectious Disease. In the summer of 2018, he served as a Law Clerk for the Office of the Public Defender in San Diego. Apart from being an Academic Success Fellow, he is currently a IP Legal Intern with Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. His interests include boxing, traveling and yoga.

Jacob Clark

Section C
Professor Rappaport - Constitutional Law

Jacob is a 2L and a native San Diegan.  He graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in English.  During his 1L summer, he worked in-house with Cubic Transportation Systems, researched with Professor Mary Jo Wiggins, and studied abroad in London.  He externed for the Honorable Erithe A. Smith in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and is a member of the San Diego Law Review.  He worked as a summer associate with Alverson Taylor Mortensen and Sanders this past summer, and is currently externing with Procopio, Hargreaves & Savitch.  Jacob enjoys spending time with his wife and newborn daughter. 

Noah Gaarder-Feingold

Section A/E
Professor Bell - Property

Noah is a second year law student. Before law school, he attended the University of California, Los Angeles where he received a B.A. in Film. While at law school, he has researched for Professor Larry Alexander and interned at the Entrepreneurship Clinic. Next summer, he will be a Summer Associate at Cooley LLP in their transactional department. Noah is a member of the San Diego Law Review and the USD Business Law Society. In his free time, he enjoys going to the beach and spending time with family.

Christopher Hodge

Section B
Professor D. McGowan - Contracts

Chris is a second-year law student originally from Arizona. He graduated from here, University of San Diego, with a BS/BA in Electrical Engineering. He is dedicated to practicing Intellectual Property law, primarily patent litigation. He currently works for the in-house legal team at Illumina where he began working this summer. Chris is part of the Moot Court Associate Board, IPLA, and San Diego Law Review. He enjoys playing soccer, skiing, reading, and watching sports.

Christopher Huntley

Section C
Professor Wonnell - Contracts

Chris went to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana and majored in Mechanical Engineering. He is a rising 2L in law school and wants to focus on Intellectual Property law. Chris is currently studying for the patent bar and hopes to become a patent agent before the year is over. He has a golden retriever and when he has some free time from law school, Chris like to take him hiking and to the beach. 

Peter Keshavan

Section B
Professor Ramsey - Constitutional Law

Peter is a third-year law student. He is a returning Academic Success Fellow, having served as a fellow for Prof. Ramsey’s Con Law I class last year. Originally from Vermont, he attended Boston University, where he earned a degree in Classics and Philosophy. Before attending law school, Peter worked for many years as a private tutor in various subjects. Peter works as a research assistant to Prof. Michael Rappaport. Peter enjoys spending time with his wife, his three young children, and their dog. 

David Rao

Section C
Professor Wiggins - Property

David Rao is a 3L (graduating this May) from Towson, Maryland and went to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota for his BA. He will be working at Snell & Wilmer in Orange County after the bar in a transactional law practice group. He enjoys basketball, cooking, and biking. 

Mariam Saleh

Section B
Professor Hirsch - Property

Mariam is a third-year law student.  Prior to attending law school, she received her undergraduate degrees in English and Middle East & Islamic Studies from UC, Riverside.  In the past, Mariam has clerked with the San Diego Public Defender’s office as their Diversity Fellow; the Alternate Public Defender’s office; the San Diego Federal Defenders; and worked as a judicial extern under Judge Burkhardt, a Federal Magistrate Judge. She is an editor on the executive board of the San Diego Law Review.  If she had any free time, she would enjoy reading about politics and spending time with her nieces. 

Claire Savage

Section A
Professor Barry - Contracts

Claire is a second-year law student. Prior to law school she graduated from Seattle University with a BA in sociology and a minor in social welfare. She is interested in criminal law and has clerked with the San Diego Public Defender’s office in both the primary office and multiple conflicts unit. During the upcoming semester she is clerking with Think Dignity in their Homeless Youth Advocacy Project. Claire enjoys spending her free time at the beach and exploring new places in San Diego.