Mariam Manukyan ’27 has been selected as the 2025 Helen Strong Curry Scholar for the Class of 2027.
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.
“This scholarship makes it possible for me to fully immerse myself in Vanderbilt’s international law offerings while I clarify where I can make the most impact,” said Manukyan. “I chose Vanderbilt Law School for its exceptional International Law curriculum and its strong emphasis on experiential learning.”
Manukyan earned her B.A. in Political Science, summa cum laude with departmental honors, from the University of Southern California. During college, she was named a Dornsife Scholar and received the Tufenkian Travel Scholarship, which enabled her to spend the summer after graduation working at the Human Rights Defender’s Office in Armenia, working in part to inform the U.N. and E.U. about the humanitarian blockade occurring in Nagorno-Karabakh at the time.
“Witnessing firsthand the gaps in international response during that crisis solidified my commitment to pursuing international law as a means of advocating for accountability and justice,” she said.
For her 1L summer, Manukyan will split her time between two roles in Los Angeles: first as a summer associate at Maynard Nexsen, and then as a judicial clerk at the Los Angeles County Superior Court in the Criminal Division. “I’m especially looking forward to gaining insight into both private and public sector work—and understanding how domestic legal systems operate in relation to broader international legal principles,” she noted.
Currently enrolled in Professor Ingrid Brunk’s Public International Law course, Manukyan looks forward to taking the International Law Practice Lab next year, in addition to participating in Moot Court and serving as a Vice President in the International Law Society and the Middle Eastern and North African Law Student Association (MENALSA).
“Being able to learn directly from someone with (Professor Michael Newton’s) depth of experience is an incredible part of the Vanderbilt experience. The chance to learn directly from him—both in the classroom and through the International Law Practice Lab—offers a level of preparation that few law schools can match,” she said.
