Since 2014, the San Diego family law firm Renkin & Associates has awarded a scholarship to current or upcoming law school students who suffer from leukemia, lymphoma, and other forms of blood cancer. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Law School Scholarship is intended to provide financial assistance to these students and raise awareness of blood cancer.
This year, Renkin & Associates is proud to name Rachel M. Mount as the primary winner of the 2022 Leukemia and Lymphoma Law School Scholarship. This $3,000 scholarship will go towards Rachel’s tuition, expenses, and fees as a law student at the University of Wisconsin.
Rachel was enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law School for the Fall 2021 semester but was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just two days before her move to Madison. She was just 23 years old at the time.
While the news was devastating, Rachel responded in an inspiring way. She recognized that her form of cancer is treatable and can even be cured and that the diagnosis could have been much worse. She reflected on her passions, goals, and overall health and drew up a detailed weekly plan to help her meet her goals in five categories: exercise, cooking, mindfulness, flexibility, and Spanish.
Rachel was inspired to become fluent in Spanish after spending six months volunteering in Costa Rica. While she had already studied Spanish and was confident with her skills when she arrived, she soon realized that putting her skills into practice with real conversations was not always easy. Upon her return to the US, she began diligently practicing Spanish every day through language exchanges with Tandem partners, watching Spanish-language TV shows, listening to Spanish-language music, and listening to podcasts.
She decided to pursue mindfulness through a regular meditation routine after learning about the numerous proven health benefits of the practice. She meditates for at least 5 minutes each night and has found that doing so has helped her become more focused.
Rachel recently completed her 6 months of chemotherapy treatment. While it certainly was not easy, she has used this setback as an opportunity to focus on putting in the work every day to meet her goals.
After completing her treatment, Rachel founded a non-profit called Carefree Capping, which is dedicated to helping other young people with lymphoma. Carefree Capping subsidizes cold cap therapy for young adults being treated for lymphoma. Cold capping is a technique that allows patients to preserve their hair when going through chemotherapy.
Although Rachel had the financial means to pay for her own cold capping, the therapy is not financially viable for many young people with lymphoma.
This strong response to adversity is a sign of Rachel’s impeccable character. At Renkin & Associates, we believe Rachel has the intelligence, work ethic, and skills needed to succeed as a law student and later as an attorney in whichever field of law she chooses. That’s why Renkin & Associates chose her for this year’s $3,000 Leukemia & Lymphoma Law School Scholarship.
Founding partner Richard M. Renkin, Esq., CFLS, is a lymphoma survivor himself. He started this scholarship to support aspiring young lawyers and show them that they can beat their cancer and have a successful, fulfilling, and long life afterward. Applicants must be current or incoming law school students with a GPA of at least 3.0. They also must submit an application and essay, along with a copy of their undergraduate and/or law school transcripts.
