Carolina Law Ambassadors

Interested in learning more about student life at Carolina Law? Our students are more than happy to share their experiences with you. If you would like to speak with a current student, contact Brenda Tabolt, Assistant Director of Admissions.

CLA Leadership

CLA President
Troy Reid

Education: North Carolina State University (B.S., Business Administration)
Hometown: Lexington, NC
Legal Interests: Civil Litigation
Campus Involvement: Holderness Moot Court Appellate Advocacy Team, Dean’s Advisory Board, First Generation Legal Professionals
Fun Fact: I have over 200 hours as a private pilot in six types of aircraft. I’m always looking for a new place to fly!

CLA Vice President
Sutton Orndorff**

Education: University of Richmond
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Legal Interests: Commercial Real Estate, Land Use & Zoning, Construction
Campus Involvement: First Amendment Law Review, Women in Law, Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, American Constitution Society, The Innocence Project, 1L Olympics
Fun Fact: I have a 2.5-year-old poodle named Bo Berry Biscuit

CLA Ambassadors

Fatimah Bajaha

Fatimah Bajaha

Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Old Jewshang, The Gambia and Charlotte, NC
Legal Interests: Transactional law
Campus Involvement: Black Law Students Association – Treasurer and Pro-Bono Chair, Pro bono
Fun Fact: I was raised in The Gambia

Kallie Bergers

Kallie Bergers

Education: University of South Carolina
Hometown: Northville, MI
Legal Interests: Banking Law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Banking Institute Journal, Consumer Legal Advocacy Society, Women in Law, Dean’s Fellow
Fun Fact: I have visited 45 countries

Ethan Brinkley

Ethan Brinkley

Education: East Carolina University, ECU – Master’s of Science in Security Studies
Hometown: Benson, NC
Legal Interests: Administrative Law
Campus Involvement: Pro Bono, Federalist Society and OutLaw
Fun Fact: I am currently the head coach for a U15 soccer team back home!

Tyriq Brown

Tyriq Brown

Education: North Carolina State University
Hometown: Clayton, NC
Legal Interests: Education law and Employment law
Campus Involvement: Civil Rights Journal, Black Law Students Association E-Board, Anti-Death Penalty Project E-Board
Fun Fact: I can solve a Rubik’s cube

Meredith Byrd

Meredith Byrd

Education: Anderson University
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Legal Interests: Family Law, Public Policy, Youth Justice, Public Interest
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, SBA
Fun Fact: I have always wanted to milk a cow (since I was a little kid) and I finally did it this past spring in the Catskills of New York!

Margaret Caudle

Maggie Caudle

Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Wilmington, NC
Legal Interests:
Entertainment, Media, Environmental
Campus Involvement: First Amendment Law Review, Women in Law, Media Law Society, Sports & Entertainment Law Association, Environmental Law Project, Outlaw
Fun Fact: I won an RV trip on the Kelly Clarkson Show last year!

Carley Cook

Carley Cook

Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Santa Fe, NM
Legal Interests: Public defense
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, trial team, Anti-Death Penalty Project, American Constitution Society
Fun Fact: I’m yoga teacher certified

Abby Cota

Abby Cota

Education: University of Nebraska
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Legal Interests: Litigation, Sports and Entertainment Law
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, Sports and Entertainment Law Association
Fun Fact: I have bungee jumped off the tallest jump in the world!

Stephanie Duensing

Stephanie Duensing

Education: Pepperdine University
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Legal Interests: Entertainment, Real Estate, Transactional
Campus Involvement: Women in Law, Entertainment and Sports Law Association, Hispanic Latino Law Student Association
Fun Fact: I took a surfing class in undergrad!

Martina Essert

Martina Essert

Education: University of Georgia
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Legal Interests: Media, Communications, Trademarks, Copyright
Campus Involvement: Pro bono, Women in Law, OutLaw, Carolina Intellectual Property Law Association, Media Law Society, Sports and Entertainment Law Association
Fun Fact: I grew up on the coast, so I had a boating license before a driver’s license!

Robert Fensom

Robby Fensom

Education: UNC-Wilmington
Hometown: Fayetteville, NC
Legal Interests: Constitutional Law, specifically First and Fourth Amendment Issues
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Moot Court
Fun Fact: When I was a kid, my family and I competed in a national Wii Games Tournament. My events were hula hooping and Super Mario Bros. We placed second overall in the nation.

Mya Fernandez

Mya Fernandez

Education: UNC Charlotte
Hometown: NYC, NY
Legal Interests: Transactional: finance/corporate; Military and Veterans Law: VA appeals and upgrades
Campus Involvement: Moot Court, Military and Veterans Law Clinic, Hispanic and Latino Society Treasurer
Fun Fact: I used to have a class B drivers license

Brett Goble

Brett Goble

Education: Centre College
Hometown: Georgetown, KY
Legal Interests: Transactional and Corporate, Capital Markets, Environmental Regulation, and Taxation
Campus Involvement: Journal of Law and Technology, Student Bar Association, Transactional and Corporate Law, Environmental Law Project
Fun Fact: I’ve walked El Camino de Santiago in Spain!

Katherin Godwin

Katherin Godwin

Education: North Carolina State University, UNC CH — Master in Public Administration
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Legal Interests: Corporate, Litigation, Finance
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Federalist Society, Saint Thomas More Society
Fun Fact: I have three children, and I live in Wake Forest!

Hannah Hall

Hannah Hall

Education: Michigan State University
Hometown: Annapolis, MD
Legal Interests: Public Interest, Entertainment Law, Transactional
Campus Involvement: Sports and Entertainment Law Association, Women in Law, SBA
Fun Fact: I was in professional theatre productions and operas until I was 20 and love to bake bread/pastries!

Matthew Heldman

Matthew Heldman

Education: Emory University
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Legal Interests: Real Estate, Land Use Law (public or private sector)
Campus Involvement: Journal of Law & Technology (JOLT), Dean’s Advisory Board, Jewish Law Student Association, Environmental Law Project
Fun Fact: I am a huge Cincinnati sports fan!

Hannah Litty

Hannah Litty

Education: Auburn University
Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Legal Interests: Criminal, International, Litigation
Campus Involvement: Journal of International Law, Women in Law
Fun Fact: I have a three-legged cat named snowball

Karolyn Martin

Karolyn Martin

Education: Appalachian State University
Hometown: Columbia, SC
Legal Interests: Corporate law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Law Review, Black Law Student Association, Dean’s Fellows, Dean’s Advisory Counsel, Teen Court Pro Bono Project, Women in Law
Fun Fact: I have signed up to skydive 3 times and it rained each time!

Patrick Kavanagh

Patrick Kavanagh

Education: University of Maryland
Hometown: Millville, NJ
Legal Interests: Corporate/Transactional Private Practice, specifically in Washington, D.C.
Campus Involvement: Anti-Death Penalty Project, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Run Club
Fun Fact: I spent five summers working in a shore-town pizza shop in New Jersey. Fun times!

Emma Poole

Emma Poole

Education: Auburn University
Hometown: Leesburg, VA
Legal Interests: Regulatory and compliance
Campus Involvement: Dean’s Fellows, Journal of International Law, Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, Women in Law, Pro Bono, Transactional and Corporate Law Association
Fun Fact: I am a certified group fitness instructor!

Avani Putcha

Avani Putcha

Education: Vanderbilt University
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Legal Interests: Corporate, M&A
Campus Involvement: IAALSA, Women in Law, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Anti Death Penalty Project
Fun Fact: I have the same birthday as both of my parents!

Kassondra Rimel

Kassie Rimel**

Education: Kenyon College
Hometown: Duncan, SC
Legal Interests: Litigation, Employment, Intellectual Property
Campus Involvement: Civil Legal Assistance Clinic, Carolina Softball Co-Captain, Women in Law, First Generation Professionals
Fun Fact: I was the first girl born in my family in 100 years

Sara Rich

Sara Rich

Education: UNC Chapel Hill
Hometown: Mooresville, NC
Legal Interests: Public Interest, Litigation, Family Law
Campus Involvement: Pro Bono, Women in Law, the Anti-Death Penalty Project, Carolina Public Interest Law Organization, National Lawyers Guild
Fun Fact: I am ordained and have officiated a wedding!

Julian Surprise

Julian Surprise*

Education: University of Vermont
Hometown: Champlain Islands, VT
Legal Interests: Transactional Law
Campus Involvement: North Carolina Banking Institute Journal, UNC School of Law Running Club, Carolina Public Interest Law Org., Law Students Against Sexual and Domestic Violence
Fun Fact: I have moved 13 times in 12 years

Samuel Taylor

Sam Taylor

Education: University of Alabama (BA & MPA)
Hometown: Fayette, AL
Legal Interests: Financial, constitutional, and criminal law
Campus Involvement: Dean’s Fellows, and Banking Journal, Run Club, Federalist Society, Christian Legal Society
Fun Fact: I bought a ticket last minute and flew to NYC to watch Serena Williams’s final match.

Timothy Picciotti

TJ Picciotti

Education: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Hometown: Ocean City, MD
Legal Interests: Administrative Law, particularly in the energy field. I’m from a coastal region so issues pertaining to conservation and natural resource use in the Mid-Atlantic also excite me.
Campus Involvement: Environmental Law Association
Fun Fact: My most ambitious culinary venture involved researching, drafting recipes for, and finally making a burrito based on the cuisine of every state with my college roommates. North Carolina (pulled pork burrito with a Cheerwine BBQ sauce) finished 17th out of the 50.

Dalton Lutz

Dalton Lutz

Education: Brigham Young University
Hometown: Hickory, NC
Legal Interests: I’m currently interested in all areas of legal practice and want to keep my options open. My goal is to explore many different fields of law to ensure I make an informed decision about my future specialization, without ruling out any area too early.
Campus Involvement: Sports and Entertainment Law Association, Transactional and Corporate Law Association, Run Club, Federalist Society, and Christian Legal Society.
Fun Fact: One interesting (and kind of funny) thing about me is that I can do a split, even though I’m not flexible at all. It just randomly happened one day—I wasn’t even trying to stretch or anything! Now it’s my unexpected party trick.


* Currently or previously served in the United States Armed Forces
** Undergraduate student athlete