{"id":229,"date":"2022-05-28T12:28:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T16:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hlsorgs3stg.wpenginepowered.com\/mocktrial\/?page_id=229"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:22:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:22:37","slug":"past-members","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/past-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Sonali<\/figure>
\n

Sonali Mehta \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sonali is from Dallas, Texas. She started doing mock trial in the eighth grade, and is somehow still doing fake law thirteen years later. Prior to HLSMTA, Sonali competed and coached for Duke Mock Trial. Sonali has interned for the ACLU Women\u2019s Rights Project and the DOJ Civil Rights Appellate office, and she hopes to pursue a career in civil rights litigation. Although Sonali has achieved many of her mock trial hopes and dreams, she never bagged her white whale: convincing the one and only Matthew Besman to compete with her.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Heather<\/figure>
\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather is from McLean, Virginia. Heather competed for (and currently coaches!) Wesleyan\u2019s undergraduate mock trial team. After college, she worked in economic consulting here in Boston and has been deemed \u201cessentially a New Englander at this point.\u201d She spurned this title and spent her 1L summer closer to home at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, DC, but she split the geographic difference as a 2L Summer Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore this past summer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Gabriel<\/figure>
\n

Gabriel Bongiorno \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel is from New Jersey. He is a newcomer to the mock trial scene, but he hopes his years of theater experience will make up for that. When he\u2019s not studying, Gabe can be found on the volleyball court or smoking Vinay at chess.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Soraia<\/figure>
\n

Soraia is from Toronto, CA. She studied International Relations, Political Science, and Hispanic Studies at Pepperdine University, where she also competed on the Pepperdine Mock Trial team. Aside from Mock Trial, Soraia is Student Government\u2019s Director of Student Organizations and sits on the boards of the International Law Journal and the Journal on Law and Gender. In her free time, she loves painting, baking, and eating Portuguese food (the superior cuisine in her opinion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Johanne<\/figure>
\n

Johanne Karizamimba \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johanne is from Southeast Missouri. He quickly left Missouri during undergrad, attending Columbia University in New York. Johanne actually competed for the Columbia mock trial team\u2014apparently he liked it so much that he found himself on this team! When he isn\u2019t objecting to everything he can at any moment, Johanne is a big movie-watcher. And yes, he will ask you what your favorite movie is, and he will judge you for your answer.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"John<\/figure>
\n

John Lowry \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John is from Bethesda, MD. He worked on the Senate Judiciary Committee for four years before law school and is completing a concurrent MPA at Princeton. This past summer he worked for the U.S. Department of Justice in New York. In his spare time, he races triathlons, fences, and works as a volunteer Firefighter\/EMT.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Michael<\/figure>
\n

Michael Nanchanatt \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: he\/him\/his<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael is from the greatest state \u2013 you guessed it! New Jersey! He started competing in mock trial in high school and hasn\u2019t escaped yet. Since starting, he has been in every type of competitive role and has also coached, judged, and taught a mock trial class for a summer program. Aside from mock trial, Michael is the Treasurer of the new Creative Writing Collective and is in the Officer Selection Program of the Marines Corps. In his free time, he enjoys reading, working out, and convincing others to move to New Jersey (the ones who deserve to live there at least).<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Sheila<\/figure>
\n

Sheila Panyam \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheila is from Portland, Oregon. She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in philosophy and classics. After competing on UW\u2019s mock trial team, she is excited to continue competing at Harvard. This past summer, she worked at Perkins Coie, and you could find her frequenting tide pools and pirate festivals along the West Coast beaches during her weekends. In her free time, Sheila likes to write historical fiction novels, knit, and play video games. Her favorite band? The only right answer, of course: Queen.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Soojin<\/figure>
\n

Soojin Park \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soojin is from Springfield, Missouri. After growing up in the hometown of Brad Pitt and the world\u2019s largest fork, she studied biology and sociology at Boston College. After college, she did public health research in South Korea through the Fulbright Program and then did a master\u2019s in bioethics at the med school. In her free time, you can find her running or cycling.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Nikol<\/figure>
\n

Nikol Tang \u201924<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikol is from Nanjing, China. She went to Columbia and majored in Political Science before coming to HLS. She had a brief mock trial career in high school, which was abruptly cut short upon twice being rejected by Columbia mock trial, so she was pleasantly surprised to have been adopted by HLSMTA. She was at Selendy Gay Elsberg in her 1L summer and will also be at Gibson Dunn for her 2L summer, both in NYC. In her free time, she enjoys dancing classical ballet, and spends waaaaaay too much time watching ballet on Youtube.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Mohini<\/figure>
\n

Mohini Tangri \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohini is from Colorado. She graduated from Washington and Lee University in 2019 and was admitted to HLS through the Junior Deferral Program, suspiciously missing all of the Covid Zoom School of Law years. In between undergrad and HLS, she taught high school mathematics and developed a very high tolerance for nonsense that has served her well when dealing with improper objections during mock competitions. At HLS, Mohini is involved in Mock Trial, the Harvard Journal on Legislation, the Harvard International Journal, and works hard to contribute socially to her affinity groups. She will also be a Resident Advisor in Gropius (Ames) this year. Mohini is generally interested in pursuing cyberlaw\/corporate governance\/startup work after law school but has yet to figure out the specifics. Outside of school, Mohini loves to learn new languages\/practice the ones she knows (Hindi\/Spanish!), chat with her sister Rohini, travel, and eat good food.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Stephanie<\/figure>
\n

Stephanie Walsh \u201924<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie is from Norwalk, Connecticut. She was a Political Science and English major at Boston College before coming to HLS, perhaps making her the team\u2019s biggest New Englander (and she, like Boston, definitively runs on Dunkin\u2019). Stephanie competed in mock trial during undergrad and aspires to one day fulfill her (and Michael Nanchanatt\u2019s) dream of using the ancient documents exception to hearsay (it feels very Nicholas Cage National Treasure). This past summer, she worked at the Center for Law and Education here in Boston.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Mudit<\/figure>
\n

Mudit Buch \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: he\/him\/his<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mudit proudly hails from Long Beach Memorial Hospital. After dazzling the 9th largest city in California (Bakersfield) with his public speaking skills, Big City Buch became the zottiest #zot at UC Irvine. After bouncing around jobs and realizing he doesn\u2019t have a Doctor\u2019s touch, he decided to #GoCrimson. At HLS, he is also your West Coast Club Sponsorship Member, a Harvard Mediation Program mediator, and a PLAP-er. Mudit spent his 1L summer at the DOJ Antitrust Division and his 2L summer with Gibson Dunn in LA. You will never catch Mudit without Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos (or Funyuns) and a Peppermint Frap.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Harsha<\/figure>
\n

Harsha Sridhar \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: he\/him\/his<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harsha is from Atlanta. He competed for Georgia Tech\u2019s undergraduate mock trial team, and having decided that ending his mock trial career would require confronting the fact that adulthood was finally upon him, he joined HLSMTA. In his spare time, Harsha roots for the Packers and (World Champion) Atlanta Braves. As much fun as he has had stacking boxes under his laptop to create makeshift Zoom standing desks and creating PowerPoint visual aids, Harsha is very excited for one last year of in-person competitions with HLSMTA.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Shao-Jia<\/figure>
\n

Shao-Jia Chang \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shao is from the greatest state of California. After growing up amongst cattle and a few other fellow humans, she studied Legal Studies and Psychology at UC Berkeley (#gobearsforever). She served for 3 years as a congressional aide to Congressman Mike Thompson both in D.C. and California, specifically as the go-to lunch order person. Having never mocked before, Shao joined HLS Mock Trial Association because the people are awesome. Now, she can confidently P when she takes Trial Advocacy Workshop. Shao is obsessed with her dog, French fries, Blue Bottle, yoga, composting, and all things organic.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Sarah<\/figure>
\n

Sarah Ghivizzani \u201923<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sarah is from Clermont, FL. She studied Economics and Political Science at the University of Florida. Before law school, Sarah worked as a ski instructor in Breckenridge, Colorado. She spent her 1L summer at the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender and her 2L summer at Proskauer Rose in Washington, D.C. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, and going for runs around Cambridge. She does not enjoy Cambridge winters.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Mario<\/figure>
\n

Mario Fiandeiro \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mario Fiandeiro is from San Jose, CA. He graduated from Northeastern University in 2020 where he competed in the American Parliamentary Debate Association. He spent his 1L summer at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and his 2L summer at Jones Day. Outside of Mock Trial, he is the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy<\/em> and a member of the Catholic Law Students Association.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Gayane<\/figure>
\n

Gayane Matevosyan \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gayane was born in Armenia and raised in Maryland. She received a B.S. in Economics and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland, where she competed on the mock trial team and worked as a resident assistant. She spent her 1L summer at the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center and her 2L summer at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. When she\u2019s not talking about Armenia, Gayane loves rock climbing, playing guitar, and purchasing an unnecessary amount of candles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Besman \u201923<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Vinay Basti \u201923<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Matthew Besman \u201923<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Justin Gillette \u201923<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Laura<\/figure>
\n

Laura Bach \u201922<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laura is an aspiring real lawyer and current fake lawyer on Harvard Law School\u2019s mock trial team. In addition to being a part of HLS\u2019s mock trial team, she is also a member of the Texas Club, Women\u2019s Law Association, and Journal of Law and Gender. Before coming to law school, she served in the Peace Corps in Uganda for 27 months where she taught literacy skills to elementary-age students. Laura graduated from Cornell University in 2016 with a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations and a minor in Business. While at Cornell, she was president of the Cornell University Mock Trial Association, where she won numerous individual awards, including two All-American awards in her sophomore year. When she\u2019s not law-ing, Laura enjoys practicing Bikram yoga, playing piano, and complaining about the ending to Game of Thrones.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Josie<\/figure>
\n

Josie Contreras \u201922<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Josie is from Los Angeles, California. Before law school, he majored in Political Science at Cal Poly Pomona where he was part of the mock trial team. After graduating he went on to coach their team leading to win awards nationally. At HLS, Josie is part of La Alianza and First Class. During his 1L summer, he worked at the Federal Defenders Office for the Central District of California. In his free time, Josie enjoys being a gym bro, playing board games, and eating cereal for dinner.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Jonathan<\/figure>
\n

Jonathan Kuang \u201922<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan is from San Diego, California. He really enjoys mock trial. Legend has it that his first words were \u201cThe bar for relevance is low, Your Honor.\u201d  He graduated from UCLA in 2018 and spent his 1L summer as a summer associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Jonathan split his 2L summer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Irell & Manella.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Robert<\/figure>
\n

Robert Santamarina \u201922<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert is from Overland Park, Kansas. Before coming to HLS, he majored in Political Science at the University of Kansas, where he competed for four years on the mock trial team. During his 1L summer, he worked as an intern for Judge Robert E. Bacharach on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He loves all things related to litigation, but when he\u2019s not reading opinions, you can find him playing soccer or (if he\u2019s lucky) relaxing on a beach somewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Gabrielle<\/figure>
\n

Gabrielle (Gabe) Crofford \u201923<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabe is a 2L from the Washington, DC area. She graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2014 and finished her Master\u2019s in International Relations at American University in 2018. She\u2019s also an AmeriCorps alum who lived in Helena, Montana for three years working at their Attorney General\u2019s Office of Consumer Protection. An aspiring future litigator, she spent her first summer at Restoring Justice, a nonprofit in Texas that provides holistic criminal defense to indigent members of the Houston community. Mock trial was a great way for her to feel like a \u201creal lawyer\u201d during 1L, and she is thrilled to serve the team this year as IVP! At HLS, she also serves on boards for the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, <\/em>Lambda, and Student Government, and is active in the Women\u2019s Law Association and Justice Initiative. Her main concern this year is finding more friends who will let her play with their dogs!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Tiffany<\/figure>
\n

Tiffany Li \u201921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiffany is a Cleveland, Ohio native. Before law school, she was the president of Georgetown\u2019s undergraduate mock trial team, and later a consultant at McKinsey & Company. At HLS, Tiffany was a member of the Board of Student Advisers and the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. During her 1L summer, she worked at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia.  Outside of school, Tiffany spends her time watching Mike Schur comedies, using Excel spreadsheets to plan vacations, and staring at pictures of her puppy. She is now an associate at Alston & Bird.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Nick<\/figure>
\n

Nick Beachy \u201921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nick is a litigator from Plain City, Ohio. His love of public speaking comes in part from his background in music and theater. He has always loved performing and the feeling of connecting with an audience, whether as a pianist or as the director of an a cappella vocal group in college. Now, he hopes to use his voice in the courtroom to advocate for clients and tell their stories. Nick is currently an associate at Gibbs & Brunn LLP.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Anissa<\/figure>
\n

Anissa Badea \u201921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A proud So Cal native, Anissa grew up in Irvine, California and graduated from UC San Diego. Prior to law school, Anissa was a fellow at the California State Senate. Aside from continuously rewatching 30 Rock, Anissa spent her time at HLS involved in VIS Moot Court, the Street Justice Coalition, and the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project. For her 1L summer, Anissa interned at the Queens County District Attorney\u2019s Office Domestic Violence Bureau. She is now an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Parker<\/figure>
\n

Parker Davis \u201920<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parker was a JD\/MBA student at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Before beginning graduate school, she studied Government and Global Health and Health Policy at Harvard College and worked at The Blackstone Group. After her 1L year, Parker was a Summer Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, and, after her first year of business school, she was an Investment Banking Summer Associate at Goldman Sachs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Makenzi<\/figure>
\n

Makenzi Herbst \u201921<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Makenzi Herbst is  from Skaneateles, New York. Before law school, she majored in Environmental Engineering and played tennis at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  Makenzi also loves ice cream, working out, and all things Upstate New York.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gabby Frieser \u201921<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lexi Butler \u201921<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Joy Holden \u201921<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dessie Otachliska \u201921<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cara Mund \u201922<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lindsey Foster \u201922<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonali Mehta \u201924 Pronouns: she\/her\/hers Sonali is from Dallas, Texas. She started doing mock trial in the eighth grade, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1903,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"plain-container","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-229","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/mocktrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}