Annakate (Ak) Blanks ’26 has been selected as the 2024 Helen Strong Curry Scholar for the Class of 2026.
Endowed through an estate gift from Jean Curry Allen (BA’44), the scholarship is awarded each year to a first-year student with a passion for international issues who plans to focus their upper-level studies on international law. The scholarship was named in honor of Allen’s mother, Helen Strong Curry.
“The scholarship focuses my education on the dimensions of International Law, while opening the door to mentorship from past recipients and faculty in the International Legal Studies Program,” Blanks noted.
“I have already had the opportunity to meet trailblazers in the field such as Paul Reichler,” she added. “I have also already found mentorship in the Class of 2025 Curry scholar, Ansley McDurmon, who has been indispensable in course suggestions and career advice.”
Blanks graduated with a B.A. in International Affairs universali cum honore, and minors in Legal Studies and Latin American Studies, from Washington University in St. Louis. Her undergraduate education inspired her to pursue a career in International Law, and Vanderbilt drew her attention. “The reputation of the International Legal Studies Program at Vanderbilt speaks for itself.,” she said.
After attending Vanderbilt in Venice, Blanks will spend the rest of her 1L summer working at The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) in Valletta, Malta, conducting research related to terrorism and transnational crime. “It’s not the typical 1L summer job, but it is the kind of job that Vanderbilt Law School can help students find,” she said.
She credits Professor Michael Newton with helping her source the opportunity at IIJ and define potential career paths, and for the education that he and other professors like Ingrid Brunk have offered during her first year and at Vanderbilt in Venice. “Sitting in the classrooms of ‘the international greats’ such as Professor Brunk and Professor Newton, have been incredible experiences,” she said.
Looking ahead to her second year of law school, Blanks looks forward to taking Newton’s International Law Practice Lab, participating in Moot Court, and serving as the Vice President of Mentorship Development for the International Law Society.
“While I am not sure what specific avenue of International Law I intend to pursue, I have prescribed to Professor Newton’s famous saying that any legal practice consists of international elements,” she said.
