Two outstanding students from the College of Staten Island’s Legal Studies Institute, Jackson Mushnick and Janel Wang, have been selected as the 2026 recipients of the Robert J. Scamardella Public Interest Law Summer Internship, an honor that recognizes academic excellence, commitment to public service, and a shared passion for pursuing careers in the legal field.
Janel, a junior Macaulay Honors College student majoring in Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies, has distinguished herself academically with a 3.95 GPA. With a particular interest in immigration and public interest law, she plans to attend law school and pursue a career advocating for underserved and immigrant communities.
“I am honored to have been selected by Professor Paris for this opportunity and am eager to contribute to the work at Legal Services NYC,” she said. “The current legal landscape presents both significant challenges and a critical need for greater legal representation, so I am really excited to begin and see all the different legal sectors that Legal Services offers.”
Janel also agrees that being a part of the Legal Studies Institute has been instrumental to her personal growth and career readiness during her time at CSI. “The Legal Studies Institute and Professor Paris have been instrumental in developing my analytical skills and deepening my passion for the legal field,” she noted. “I greatly value the Institute’s events and opportunities, including recent programming such as Fordham Law Professor Julie Suk’s recent talk at CSI about her recent book on women’s rights which I was especially excited to attend. I had actually called Professor Paris’s attention to her book in a classroom discussion, so I was really excited to meet her in person.”
