COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has awarded its fourth year of Diversity Scholarships to three law students: Sydney Hamer, Shadaisa Wilcox, and Elaine Yap. Each will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a salaried summer 2019 position in a firm office.

Hamer, a second-year law student at the University of Georgia School of Law, will work in the Charleston, S.C. office. Hamer grew up all over the United States as the daughter of a naval officer. She earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Clemson University. At Georgia Law, Hamer is an active member of the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, is a Dean’s Ambassador, and is an active member of the Black Law Students Association. Hamer volunteers as a court appointed special advocate in Athens, Ga., working closely with foster children in the legal system. Hamer has also worked to provide legal aid to veterans in Georgia by participating in the Veterans Legal Clinic at Georgia Law.

Wilcox is a second-year student at Mercer University School of Law and will work in the Atlanta office. She is currently enrolled in Mercer’s JD/MBA program. A native of Douglas, Ga., she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Mercer University. Wilcox serves as a co-events chair for the Black Law Students Association, as well as the Education and Networking chair for Phi Delta Phi Honor Society. She is an academic success mentor and is an active member of the Mercer Law Review Vol. 70. Her Note on HIV/AIDS and the Anti-Kickback Statute was selected for publication and will appear in print early this summer. After graduation, Wilcox hopes to practice transactional law.

Yap, who will work in the Columbia, S.C. office, was born in Hawaii and raised in an Army family. She attended The College of William and Mary for her undergraduate degree, where she was a varsity cheerleading captain, a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and a founding member of a local high school mentorship and tutoring program.  At William and Mary, she earned a degree in international relations focused on East Asia with a minor in history. A second-year law student at the University of South Carolina, Yap is president of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force; vice president of the Public Interest Law Society; a member of the ABA Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law Journal; a member of the Black Student Law Association; and a member of the Indigenous Women’s Alliance of South Carolina. She has volunteered at the HELP Clinic at Transitions Homeless Recovery Center and helped establish a Law School Food Pantry.

The Nelson Mullins Diversity Scholarship Program ​​​is open to second-year law students and is primarily designed to increase the number of diverse law students interested in summer and long-term employment with the firm.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 750 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in 11 states and Washington, DC. For more information on the firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.