CHARLES WIDGER '73 LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIP

Kevin Hernandez is an alumnus of Florida International University, where he graduated with a BA in international relations. A proud Floridian and son of Colombian immigrants, he was born in New Jersey and grew up in Tampa, FL. 

Prior to law school, Hernandez most recently worked as the policy director at the LIBRE Initiative. His work focused on advancing liberty and freedom-minded policy solutions at the state and federal levels that break down barriers to opportunity and empower Hispanics to achieve their American Dream. 

Prior to joining LIBRE in 2017, Hernandez worked at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as their head of policy and government affairs. He was responsible for shaping and advancing the chamber’s policy agenda in DC to elevate the interests of our country’s 4+ million Hispanic-owned businesses. His work primarily focused on access to capital, energy, taxes, trade and workforce development. Hernandez is a US fellow with the British-American Project and serves on the NextGen Chamber of Commerce’s advisory council. 

Vidhu B. Joshi is an alumnus of both the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in genetics, and Mayo Clinic Graduate School, from which he graduated in 2022 with a Master of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Before beginning law school at Villanova, Joshi spent five years working at the Mayo Clinic in research. As a researcher, he has authored over 15 peer-reviewed scientific publications with a primary focus on therapeutic strategies in urological cancers. In addition, Joshi is a Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) and has used his expertise in clinical research and regulatory affairs to coordinate over 20 research studies and clinical trials by working directly with patients and providers. He later served as a research program coordinator supporting a multi-million-dollar research program in biomedical engineering that focused on artificial intelligence and biomedical imaging. Passionate about mentorship and innovation in all areas of STEM, Joshi volunteers as the managing editor of the STEM Fellowship Journal wherein young researchers can publish their research in a peer-reviewed academic journal as well as seek mentorship through the several enrichment programs offered by STEM Fellowship, the largest student-run volunteer STEM organization in Canada.

Marina Campo is an alumna of Ursinus College, where she earned a BA with double majors in international relations and business/economics. At Ursinus, she was secretary of UCEA Environmental Action Club, a volunteer for St. Christopher’s Children Hospital and studied abroad in Firenze, Italy. Campo also earned a Master of Business Administration from Rowan University in New Jersey. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Campo worked at TD Bank in a variety of roles in retail banking as a customer service representative, an executive assistant with loan operations and as a project specialist with the Credit Card Operations/Governance Team. Campo has also worked for Turnberry Solutions/AmeriHealth Administrators in Philadelphia as a business analyst/project consultant for client implementation, where she conducted analysis and data mining for business migration and client implementations, facilitated account setup, served as a SME and assisted in training for new team members. Before starting law school, Campo was employed by Santander Consumer in Dallas as an associate vendor manager for partner relations. In this role she was responsible for performing risk assessments, assisting with contract execution and conducting SLA and performance monitoring for Santander vendors.

Michael Lambert comes to the Villanova Law from Washington, DC, where he worked across a variety of political, public policy, and non-profit areas. Most recently, Lambert worked for Americans for Prosperity as a federal and state policy analyst. In that role, he developed several policy issue initiatives, including public infrastructure financing, export-import bank reform and agriculture spending. He also represented AFP before members of Congress and staff, executive branch agencies and policy coalitions. Prior to that, Lambert served as a legislative aide for the office of Congressman Ed Whitfield in the United States House of Representatives and interned in the offices of Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Steve Scalise. Additionally, he has assisted a number of House and Senate election campaigns. Originally from Louisville, KY, Lambert received his Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of Louisville and his Master of Professional Studies in political management from The George Washington University.

Samantha Thompson received her Bachelor of Science Degree in marketing: public relations & advertising from Stephens College and received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Missouri- Kansas City. She is currently the manager of business operations & chief of staff to the vice-president at Lumen Technologies where she has worked since August 2022. In this role, Thompson has an operational and strategic position supporting the customer success marketing team including chief of staff responsibilities for VP, customer success marketing & data intelligence and cross-functional work to support a range of initiatives across the organization. She has also worked at Lumen Technologies as the lead marketing manager, where she was responsible for leading small business strategy & go-to-market planning for new and complex products across all of Lumen’s brands. This included the execution of various trials, in collaboration with agency partners. Thompson has also had stints with Global Prairie as a senior associate for insight and strategy as well as project manager, fellow and growth strategy at Barkley in Kansas City, MO. Thompson's current volunteer activity includes participating as a CASA volunteer of Cook County and deputy registrar with Chicago Votes.

Regan Anderson is a 2023 alumna from the University of Minnesota Curtis L. Carlson School of Management graduating with a bachelor of science in business in supply chain operations management, a bachelor of arts in Spanish language and a minor in business law. Since September of 2023, Anderson has worked as a legal assistant at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where she is responsible for drafting and proofreading legal documents, including agreements, board minutes, contracts, and correspondence, ensuring accuracy and adherence to firm and legal standards. Coordinating communication between legal teams, clients and external parties, managing calendars, scheduling meetings and handling confidential information with discretion and assisting in billing and timekeeping activities by monitoring and tracking billable hours and expenses, ensuring accurate invoicing for multiple clients and client matters. Prior to her employment at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Anderson worked as a law clerk at Tomsche, Sonneyson & Tomsche, P.A. and was a legal intern in Toledo, Spain at Las Cortes de Castilla-La Mancha. While at the University of Minnesota, she was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Eta Chapter where she served as the vice president of pledge education, assistant pledge educator and pledge class historian and recipient of the AKPsi Enterprise Scholarship 2020-2023 for outstanding academic achievement and involvement. 

Lauren Lauletta is a 2024 alumna of the The Pennsylvania State University Smeal College of Business with a bachelor of science in corporate innovation and entrepreneurship and a minor in international business. Lauletta has worked as a marketing intern at Incutate Workplace in Philadelphia, PA where she implemented social media efforts including marketing, member highlights, website updates, and SEO software along with sharing available property listings, negotiating with potential tenants, and provides communication to 150 current tenants. In the Smeal College of Business under the Smeal Management and Organization Department, Lauletta served as an administrative teaching assistant. She led a teaching team of 10 other assistants who are responsible for overseeing over 1,000 students and coordinates with three professors to determine best methods for enhancing student learning experience while organizing weekly teaching plans and performed quality assurance audits to ensure consistency of grading by assistants. Lauletta was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority where she served as a member of the Alternative Fundraising Committee participating in THON, a 46-hour Dance Marathon and year-long fundraising campaign to benefit pediatric cancer and arranged fundraising opportunities in State College, including dinners, bake sales, raffles and more, raising a yearly average of $200,00 to benefit THON.

Robert Rodriguez is an alumnus of Southern New Hampshire University, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science in business administration and a concentration in entrepreneurship. Since October of 2023, Rodriguez has worked as a program manager and small business advisor at Lehman College. There, he relaunched the business incubator program to better serve small businesses, implemented a revenue generating business model and engineered a membership tier system overseeing all aspects of admissions criteria, including screening, onboarding and servicing. Rodriguez has also worked as an account manager for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, where he was the primary consultant for marketing, startup, financing assistance, growth and strategy. He has volunteered as a community assistant for the Office of State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, where he assisted the deputy chief of staff with event coordination and consults the district office regarding business programs and grants available to constituents. Additionally, Rodriguez was a logistics embarkation specialist for the United States Marine Corps Reserves, where he secured cargo for land, sea and air transport while utilizing automated information systems and provided briefing to officers and senior enlisted personnel on cargo loads.