Public Interest Law Scholarship

Welcome Fall 2026 Public Interest Law Scholars

Northeastern University School of Law has awarded the Public Interest Law Scholarship — the School of Law’s highest honor for students pursuing careers in social justice — to first-year students Eleanor Costello ’29, Daniel Cullin ’29, Charlotte Graf ’29, Kadia King ’29, Laila Krugman ’29 and Adeline Larsen ’29 and Devon Wood ’29.

Eleanor Costello ’29 graduated summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Commonwealth Honors College with a BA in history and minor in economics. She spent the next three years working in eviction defense at Northeast Legal Aid, first through the AmeriCorps Legal Advocates of Massachusetts program, and then as a staff paralegal. While at NLA, she assisted the city of Lynn in drafting mandatory tenants’ rights information to accompany the city’s 2025 Housing Stability Ordinance.

Daniel Cullin ’29 graduated summa cum laude from George Washington University with a BA in international affairs (Middle East concentration) and a minor in German. He then coordinated the Transatlantic Dialogue Program at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which seeks to foster bilateral relations between the U.S. and Germany across civic and official channels. Later, he supported the immigration practice at Quarles & Brady in employment-based U.S. and global immigration matters. Most recently, he worked in fine dining in New York City, continuing his interest in service and community through hospitality.

Charlotte Graf ’29 graduated from the University of Vermont with a major in political studies and minor in environmental studies. She went on to work at the Vermont Professionals of Color Network, a nonprofit focused on bringing networking and professional opportunities to people of color in the state. Later, she supported the executive team and operational management at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, a policy advocacy organization that works to advance the rights of low-income communities.

Kadia King ’29 graduated from Salem College with a BA in political science and minors in communications and French. She then served as an AmeriCorps volunteer working with the Napa County Office of Education to support the academic and social-emotional learning needs of underserved K-2 students. She later went on to support the English language program at Geo Milev High School in Burgas, Bulgaria, as a Fulbright English teaching assistant. Most recently, as an immigration paralegal at Church World Service, Kadia aided attorneys in providing low cost legal services to refugees, asylees and other immigrants in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Laila Krugman ’29 graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in sociology: law, justice and social change and a minor in drama: text-to-performance. Recently, as records specialist in the Juvenile Lifer Unit of the State Appellate Defender Office of Michigan, she assisted defense teams in representing and advocating for individuals serving unconstitutional sentences.

Adeline Larsen ’29 graduated from Barnard College with a BA in sociology and human rights and a minor in English. Following graduation, she worked as a paralegal with the Law Center for Better Housing, supporting advocacy for Chicago renters facing eviction and conducting community outreach around tenant rights.

Devon Wood ’29 graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a BA in political science and a minor in Black studies. She spent the following three years working as a legal assistant at the Contra Costa Alternate Defender Office, where she focused on post-conviction matters. In this role, she supported attorneys in navigating an evolving landscape of California criminal law reforms that expanded opportunities for retroactive relief. Her efforts contributed to securing relief for more than 15 clients, several of whom had been incarcerated for more than 20 years.