23rd Annual Joyce Ann Harpole Scholarship Winner Announced

Akriti Bhargava ’22 is the recipient of the 2021 Joyce Ann Harpole Memorial Scholarship, an annual scholarship given to a student who is nominated by their peers and selected by the Harpole Scholarship Committee. The scholarship committee is composed of prior scholarship and attorney award recipients and classmates of Joyce.

The Joyce Ann Harpole Memorial Scholarship recognizes students who work quietly in pursuit of justice while maintaining a sense of balance between their legal or academic career and their personal life. Joyce Ann Harpole ’79, exemplified professionalism with her delight for life and the balance she achieved between her legal career, family, friends, and community.

“Akriti never does anything halfway,” stated fellow classmate Elena Itämeri ’22 in her nomination. “She gives her all if she is supporting a friend, she goes above and beyond in helping her peers in our coursework, and she throws herself into her advocacy work wholly. She is an amazing and diligent advocate both in her professional roles and her personal ones.”

“Akriti has space, time, and emotional support to offer anyone who needs it,” Natalie Hollabaugh ’21 stated in her nomination for Bhargava. “I personally have turned to Akriti in moments that were incredibly challenging in my personal life to find that she was not only ready to give me a pep talk, but to actually help me process and work through my emotions. I’m certainly not the only one who benefits from her thoughtfulness. She has also sought to always create space for others in meetings, in class, and all over campus.”

“This scholarship is particularly meaningful to me, because it is a peer-nominated scholarship,” Bhargava stated. “I am an active member of our school’s Student Bar Association, and have spent the last year working towards making our law school a more equitable and inclusive place. I have provided community support in various forms throughout the year, as law students battled one hardship after another. For me, community has always come first, and I feel honored that my community chose me for this award. I accept this scholarship with pride and will work to uphold and further Joyce Harpole’s legacy of enriching and supporting her peers.”