Congratulations to John Paul Chakbazof, who was recently awarded the 2021 California ChangeLawyers Diversity Scholar, given in partnership with AALASC. Each year, the $5,000 scholarship is awarded to a 3L law student serving Southern California communities that displays leadership potential, a commitment to public service, and demonstrates positive contributions to the Arab American legal community.

John Paul is a third-year law student at Western State College of Law, who will be graduating next month.John Paul was born in San Dimas, California, but spent most of his childhood traveling back and forth between the United States and Damascus, Syria, where the majority of his family lives.John Paul attended the University of California, Riverside, where he became a first generation college graduate, receiving a major in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration. During law school, he secured a judicial externship with the Honorable Nancy Zeltzer, Orange County Superior Court Judge, and also worked for the Riverside Public Defender's Office and the Orange County District Attorney's Office.While at Western State, John Paul achieved a top 10 rank and was asked to be part of the Dean's Fellow program where he mentored incoming 1L students. Moving forward, John Paul intends to dedicate his legal career to public service and hopes to become a judge one day.