Graduating Hurst Horizon Scholars Reflect
Yale Law School’s groundbreaking Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program provided a full-tuition, need-based scholarship to more than 15% of J.D. students in the 2025-26 academic year.
For decades, Yale Law School has been a leader in need-based financial aid, working to ensure every student has the chance to pursue a legal education regardless of their financial circumstances.
The Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program complements longstanding elements of the Law School’s robust financial aid program. Each year, through careful fiscal stewardship and the generosity of donors, the Law School spends more than $20 million from its endowment income alone to fund need-based financial aid, which ensures that more than 70% of Yale Law students receive generous financial aid packages that significantly lower the cost of attendance.
“Our Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program has been transformative,” said Dean Cristina Rodríguez ’00. “Increasing access and affordability widens the circle of those who can imagine themselves as a Yale Law School student and a member of the legal profession.”
Below, three graduating Hurst Horizon Scholars — Christian Aviles ’26, Janet Ceron ’26, and Sam Haddad ’26 — discuss the impact the scholarship has had on their law school careers.
Christian Aviles ’26
Christian Aviles found a path for himself by forging close mentoring relationships with his teachers and in activities like student government, JROTC, and the marching band. Those dedicated mentors encouraged him along his path through community college, Amherst College, and a career teaching and mentoring at Squash Haven, an urban squash program in New Haven.
He became part of the first cohort of Yale Law School’s Access to Law pipeline program, then enrolled in the University of Connecticut Law School’s part-time evening program while continuing to work at Squash Haven and helping to support his mother in California. After two years at UConn, he joined the Yale Law School class of 2026, where the Hurst Horizon Scholarship helped give him the freedom to immerse himself in the campus community.
“The scholarship allowed me to move around the law school feeling like I had this weight off my shoulders, which meant I could focus on the things that were important to me and the things that I wanted to do when I started law school, which was building community, both in the classroom and in the student life on campus.”
Read more about Christian Aviles ’26
Janet Ceron ’26
Seeing the positive impact lawyers made in their clients’ lives inspired Janet Ceron to apply to law school. Now about to graduate, Ceron said that the Hurst Horizon Scholarship Program enables the diversification of the legal profession in a way that will benefit clients, because more lawyers will have a shared understanding of their clients’ lived experiences. “I’m still entering a profession where most of the individuals do not look like me, let alone come from the socioeconomic background that I come from,” she said.
The Hurst Horizon Scholarship also allowed Ceron to pursue her interests at Yale Law School based on curiosity, she said. “I could explore opportunities because they were interesting to me, not because they would compensate me or because they would allow me to continue to afford the next year and the following year,” she said.
Read more about Janet Ceron ’26
Sam Haddad ’26
Receiving the Hurst Horizon Scholarship solidified Sam Haddad’s decision to come to Yale Law School. “Hurst was why I chose YLS, hands down,” he said.
For Haddad, the scholarship offered an extraordinary amount of autonomy. Because of the scholarship, Haddad has been able to work both summers during law school, spend time during the academic year pursuing classes and extracurriculars he might not have otherwise sought out, and support his family even while living across the country.
“There’s a level of financial autonomy and freedom through Hurst,” he said. “As a result, I’ve been able to do things on campus that I wouldn’t have been able to do because I would have needed to work.”
