MFIA Celebrates 2024–25 Student Directors

This year, the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) was led by four energetic student directors: Faven Getahun ’25, Noah Kim ’25, Victoria Maras ’25, and Ben Menke ’25.

Getahun came from Gaithersburg, Maryland. A lifelong resident and admirer of the East Coast, she hopes to instill the values of her hometown into her future work. “I loved growing up in a place that was so diverse and had such an emphasis on educational policy and cultural learning, which have been areas of interest of mine for many years,” she said.

Maras, from the mid-Atlantic, hails from State College, Pennsylvania. Moving further west, Menke represents the heartland as a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “Growing up there was just like growing up anywhere else, except I had a cornfield in my backyard,” he joked.

Before coming to the Law School, Maras and Getahun each spent two years working on political campaigns. Maras — who holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and history — temporarily moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to serve as a field organizer for former President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Getahun also contributed to the 2020 presidential election as a campaigner in North Carolina. She next joined the Democratic Party of Georgia, which helped elect Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in a 2021 runoff election.

Getahun and Maras then both shifted to other projects. Getahun recounted, “After my time on campaigns, I moved on to an education nonprofit, TNTP” — an organization that emphasizes educational policy, like her hometown of Gaithersburg. “I worked on a variety of matters, from community organizing and research to school district consulting,” she continues. Getahun said she feels that each of her roles has provided her with experience and skills that remain critical for law school and legal internships.

“They also reinforced my interest in the law as a force for potential social change,” she said.

Maras instead transitioned to a government role at the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) with AmeriCorps. As a continuation of her peripatetic career, Maras details that “the NCCC program involved living and working on service projects in Mississippi, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama.”

Maras and Menke each decided to attend law school given their shared interests in election law and democracy. Maras noted her time on former President Biden’s campaign as a source of inspiration. “My interest in politics and background as a field organizer got me interested in election law and voting rights; that’s what inspired me to attend law school,” she elaborates.

Menke developed similar interests as an undergraduate. “During my junior year in college, I organized an effort to get out the vote for the 2020 election,” he said. The project was a success. “I think the reason we got almost 85% of my classmates to vote was because we circulated trustworthy information about the candidates and made voting as easy as possible,” he continues.

The campaign fostered his passion to protect democratic institutions. “I think my interest in this combination — a trustworthy information ecosystem and an accessible voting system — is what pushed me toward law school,” he concluded.

Getahun, whose work has been devoted to social change, decided to attend law school given her interest in public policy. “I felt frustrated at times with how little could change from a policy perspective without a change in law,” she said. “I found a variety of interests within the legal field to be interesting and meaningful and knew that any of them would allow me to have an impact and feel fulfilled.”

Each of the student directors will have the opportunity to continue their work at a different law firm this fall following graduation. Getahun will join Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C. and feels excited to return to a city near home. Maras will serve as political law Associate at Elias Law Group, where she spent the summer. Up north, Menke will continue to study for the bar exam before he starts at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP in New York City.

In addition to law school and their burgeoning legal careers, the student directors like to spend time on imaginative and idyllic hobbies. Maras shares: “I enjoy baking — one of my greater achievements is that I made my sister’s wedding cake.” Getahun similarly enjoys photography and crochet and recently celebrated her American Bully Jax’s 5th birthday. Menke, last year, flew to hike in Armenia.

The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) is a law student clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression by providing pro bono legal services, pursuing impact litigation and developing policy initiatives.