Meet the Incoming Superstars of Brooklyn Law School’s New Class

The nearly 420 new students embarking on their legal journeys at Brooklyn Law School exhibit a remarkable range of backgrounds and talents that speak to the great diversity that makes our community strong.  

As Vice Dean and Stanley A. August Professor of Law Professor William Araiza told the incoming class at the 2025 Convocation Monday night: “You are an extraordinary bunch of people, and you traveled many different paths to get to where you are tonight.”     

Indeed they are. Some join the Law School after (or while still) working as dedicated teachers or professionals in the health care, public service, or tech fields. Others have served the nation with distinction in the military. And all are ready to pursue their dream of legal studies and earning their J.D. As this new class joins the Law School, here are some of their stories.  

Simran Thapa ’28 arrived in Brooklyn Law School and set foot in New York City for the first time after spending six months in her native Nepal, although she grew up in Texas and Maryland. She is one of the 50 new students who speak 35 different foreign languages – in her case,  Nepali.  Her work as a special education assistant teacher teaching dyslexic children to read inspired her work in Nepal, where she was involved with lobbying the government to recognize dyslexia as a learning disability. That interest in children also inspired her interest in the law, specifically technology and privacy.  

“While working with disabilities and special education, I saw the role of technology as this bridge for more equity,” Thapa said, adding that there are downsides to tech, too.  “On the middle school level, I noticed how much children are using technology, as are vulnerable communities, and I’m passionate about how that is going to be regulated. The link I see moving forward is a focus more on technology and law.” 

She eagerly anticipates taking a class this year with Professor Amy Gajda, the Jeffrey D. Forchelli Professor of Law, who teaches privacy, technology, and communications law and getting involved with the BLIP ( Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy) clinic, directed by Professor Jonathan Askin. Law runs in  Thapa’s blood. Her great-grandfather served as Nepal’s fifth Chief Justice – a role akin to being the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court – and one that he did during a pivotal era in the nation's history after caste-based justice was abolished. Her grandmother was among the country’s first female law school graduates.  

Other students also bring global perspectives and experience to the Law School. Two of our incoming students, Evan Valentin ’28 and DeLane Young ’28, are veterans of the U.S. Air Force. They build on the strength that veteran students already bring to Brooklyn Law, and demonstrate the increased support of former military members through initiatives like the Yellow Ribbon Program. 

Valentin, who holds a B.A. in foreign languages with a concentration in Spanish from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, served as a cryptologic linguist during his six years in the Air Force, which he said was excellent preparation for his legal studies. “My military service sharpened my skills at problem-solving under pressure and taught me the value of teamwork in one of the most diverse environments I’ve ever known,” he said. 

Among the reasons he chose Brooklyn Law, he said, is “its generous and comprehensive support for veteran students, which made me feel confident I would have the resources and opportunities I need to succeed. I see the J.D. as a force multiplier: a way to amplify the ability to assist others by pairing advocacy skills with deep legal knowledge. My love of language, strengthened through my work as a linguist, naturally intersects with the law and its interpretation. I’m especially excited to engage with Brooklyn Law’s Center for Law, Language, and Cognition and, later in my studies, to participate in the BLS/EXI Innocence Clinic.” 

Young, who grew up in Caledonia, Mich., and traveled with his family to all 50 U.S. states before he graduated high school, served in the Air Force as a Security Forces member. There he developed his communication and leadership skills as a law enforcement and security officer in domestic and international jurisdictions, from Texas and North Dakota to the UK and Niger. He then went on to the University of Colorado to study philosophy and stayed in Denver to serve as a victim advocate for the Denver Police Department, and as a judicial assistant for the Denver County Criminal Court.  

With a law degree, he said, “I will be able to combine my passion for public service and criminal justice while expanding on previous experience. I believe that Brooklyn provides the best opportunity to grow as a leader… and the ability to contribute to real criminal justice reform locally and inspiring others nationally, strengthening justice in our democracy as a whole.”  

Criminal justice is also the focus of Anthony Mongillo ’28, who has had years of firsthand experience in the field. Following his undergraduate studies in English and business administration at Saint Joseph’s University, in Philadelphia, he went to work for the New Haven Superior Court, in his home state of Connecticut. There, he progressed from courtroom clerk to criminal case-flow coordinator in the court’s Criminal Department.  

“I decided to pursue a J.D. after finding myself immersed in the world of criminal law judges, state’s attorneys, and defense attorneys and passionate about many of the same legal issues that they were dealing with on a daily basis,” Mongillo said. “I was in a privileged position being so close to the action, and while forever grateful for the opportunity, I no longer wished to remain on the sidelines.” 

At Brooklyn Law, Mongillo said he is looking forward to participating in some of the school’s many student organizations like the Student Bar Association, Brooklyn Advocates for Justice Reform, and the Brooklyn Business Law Association, as well as the school’s nationally renowned in-house clinics, such as the Criminal Defense and Advocacy and Safe Harbor clinics.   

Darian Ahmadizadeh ’28 enters Brooklyn Law with an extensive background in mathematics and data science, beginning at a young age. In 2016, he won first place at the American Mathematics Competition from the Mathematical Association of America, and in 2017, at age 13, he became the youngest TED speaker of Iranian descent in the world, presenting a talk on exploring new ways to teach mathematics.  

Born and raised in the Bronx, Ahmadizadeh graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in data science and economics and a master’s degree from USC’s Gould School of Law, and was a USC Presidential Scholar. During his undergraduate years, he completed data science internships at two Y Combinator-backed startups: one aimed to help solve supply chain inefficiencies in Latin America and the other used artificial intelligence (AI) to try to improve equity in U.S. hiring.  

“I was drawn to Brooklyn Law’s strong community, incredible faculty and alumni, and its location in the heart of NYC,” Ahmadizadeh said. “I have always been drawn to negotiation and advocacy, skills I developed early while helping my parents navigate language barriers after they fled Iran during the war. At BLS, I’m excited to immerse myself in the community, grow my knowledge of the law, and prepare for a career where I can make a meaningful impact.”  

For Gabrielle Archibald ’28, attending Brooklyn Law School is, she said, “quite the full-circle moment.” Born and raised in Brooklyn, she headed to Atlanta to attend Spelman College, where she earned her B.A. in international studies with a concentration in cultural studies. There, she had investigated the interconnectedness of industries, focusing her senior thesis on the fashion industry, as, she said, “a vehicle of self-expression, and how politics and the law influence it all. I explored how the exclusionary practices the luxury industry survives on often capitalize on cultural and structural violence.” 

Taking a gap year after her undergraduate studies, Archibald devoted herself to a host of creative projects and interned at Black-woman-owned, company-brand-centered The Cloud Law Firm, where she learned about intellectual property law. The idea of pursuing a law degree took hold. But Archibald initially felt that going to law school, and specifically Brooklyn Law School, alma mater of her father, attorney Roger V. Archibald ’90, might be following too closely in his footsteps.  

Yet, she said, “I came to the realization that …for this next chapter in my life, I wanted to revisit my roots, but from a more mature pair of eyes and mindset. I have learned to see how the law is in everything.” Now, as a member of this year’s incoming class, Archibald is keen to immerse herself in the curriculum, and in the study of data privacy law, specifically in the fashion space. “I am curious to explore how AI will be implemented with time and how to make sure it is not at the expense of creatives. Brooklyn Law has a strong focus on privacy, so I am looking forward to taking courses related to the field.” 

Another new student with generational roots in the Brooklyn Law community is Matthew Quirindongo ’28, whose grandfather, Franklin Quirindongo ’63, and father, Michael Quirindongo ’89 are both alumni. A native New Yorker, Matthew graduated from Fordham University with a degree in political science and philosophy, and was a member of Phi Sigma Tau, the national honor society in philosophy.  

Part of the philosophical approach Matthew brings to law school is a phrase taught to him at Fordham, cura personalis, meaning, “care of the whole person,” he said.  

“I took that to mean caring for my individual well-being, but also understanding that each person is an individual who has a story, one that is filled with complexities and hardships,” he said. “As a result, we should care for each individual in a way that considers their wholeness, respecting both the individual and their situation.” 

Pursuing a career in law, he hopes, will allow him to live that philosophy and enact meaningful change. “There are individuals in our system, whether it be in a criminal or civil situation, who are put to the side, and have their individuality rejected and silenced,” Quirindongo said. “I feel that Brooklyn offers me the opportunity to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.”  

Duncan Bryer ’28 was already well on his career path in the field of public service. He served in the Texas State Legislature as chief of staff for a state representative and then as communications director for the Dean of the Texas State Senate. When he aimed to take his career to the next level, Brooklyn Law School’s reputation in public service law sealed the deal.  

“I decided to pursue a J.D. when I realized a genuine mastery of government would require a mastery of the law,” Bryer said. “I wanted to attend a law school with an extraordinary program for public service and government and a track record of graduating public leaders and legal scholars in those areas. I look forward to the opportunities that will be uniquely available to me as a student at Brooklyn Law in New York City government and public policy–adjacent civil society.” 

Jenny Labendz ’28, a respected scholar who is formerly a tenured associate professor of religious studies and director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, is eager to prepare for her next career chapter at the Law School. “I was impressed with the Public Service Law Center, the alumni network, and the admission of many second-career students,” she said.  

Having served on the municipal rent control board in her home of Hoboken, N.J., she said, “I was inspired by my work on rent control in my city to pursue a career in public interest law. My academic field was Talmudic studies, so I have considerable familiarity with law and legal theory, and I found that applying my knowledge to municipal law was both intellectually satisfying and morally fulfilling. At Brooklyn Law School, I look forward to participating in clinics and refining my sense of the kind of work I want to do after graduation.” 

Labendz holds a Ph.D. from the Jewish Theological Seminary and is author of Socratic Torah: Non-Jews in Rabbinic Intellectual Culture (Oxford University Press, 2013). 

James Oberholtz ’28, who goes by the nickname J.D., is from Kansas City and was a first-generation college student when he earned his B.A. in accounting from the University of Kansas and a master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. Having worked his way up the ladder in his profession, most recently as senior accountant for T-Mobile, where he managed inventory costs, reconciliations, financial analyses and marketing fund accruals using cutting-edge technology, Oberholtz was ready for the next step.  

The well-regarded Brooklyn Law part-time J.D. program has attracted a growing number of new part-time students like Asna Jamal ’29, who is an administrative coordinator for NYU Langone Health Cardiology Associates (Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Assist Device Program). Jamal, who was raised in Elmont, N.Y., and graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.S. in biochemistry and psychology, has a particular interest in exploring the regulatory and compliance aspects of health care.  

“I like the flexibility that BLS offers with their part-time program and the externships and clinics that focus on health law,” she said.  

Look to our social media channels for additional new student profiles, and share your story by emailing us at communications@brooklaw.edu