January 2021: Announcing Winners of the FairShake Consumer Protection Pre-Law Scholarship

Thank you to all of the students who submitted essays for our 2020 scholarship program.

FairShake provides and promotes undergraduate scholarships in order to raise awareness and interest in the power of consumer protection law and advocacy to improve the lives of everyday people.

This was our second time issuing these awards, and we were once again pleased to have a strong batch of essays to choose from. We are awarding four students for essays around two critical areas of consumer protection: technology and healthcare. Given the strength of applications, we are also naming three entries as Honorable Mentions.

The awarded essays, and those receiving honorable mention, will be linked below.

Topic 1: Combating anti-consumer practices in the healthcare industry

• Miller McGee of the University of Georgia advocates government action against patent monopolies that result in exorbitantly high drug prices for American consumers. 
• Abhi Nathan of Vanderbilt University champions a legislative solution to the adverse effects that “surprise billing” has on hospital patients, particularly in marginalized and low-income communities. (A recent win for consumers!)

Topic 2: Addressing anti-consumer design within the technology industry

• Hailey Sanford of the University of Georgia calls for governmental intervention to combat the practice of planned obsolescence which technology companies build into the products. 
• Jessie Wall of New York University proposes increased transparency and regulation of personal finance platforms’ business relationships with high frequency trading firms.

Honorable mention:

• Liliam Clavijo of the University of Florida wrote on the need for government action to pressure phone companies to protect vulnerable communities against robocall scams.
• Caleb Crary of Whitworth University identified opportunities for greater consumer transparency to be used in combating modern unethical labor practices.
• Cassidy Langenfeld of Cornell University wrote on the need to combat price-gouging in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Are you an undergraduate interested in applying for the FairShake Consumer Protection Pre-Law Scholarship?

FairShake will be offering additional scholarships in 2021. For more details, keep an eye on our application page here.