MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A member of the West Virginia University College of Law Class of 2020 is a runner-up for National Jurist Law School Student of the Year.
The magazine selected Hannah Steketee for its annual recognition of exceptional law students because of the range of her accomplishments in and out of school. Just three runners-up—and one winner—are selected nationally.
A recipient of WVU Law’s top academic scholarship, Steketee graduates on May 16 with a J.D./International Law Concentration. This summer, she will make a 4,000-mile journey from West Virginia to clerk for the Honorable Jonathan Woodman of the Palmer Superior Court in Alaska’s Third District.
Steketee is president of the International Law Students Association and captain of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Team. She is a member of the Immigration Law Clinic and the in-house Lugar Trial Association. She is also executive research editor for Volume 122 of the West Virginia Law Review, and a teaching assistant for Legal Analysis, Research and Writing. She has been a Dean’s Fellow peer tutor in criminal law, and she has earned a CALI award for the highest grade in Evidence class.
This spring, Steketee was awarded a prestigious clerkship at the European Court of Justice, COVID-19 cut short her trip, but she was able to spend two weeks working at the court.
Last summer, Steketee worked in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, as the assistant director of development for Cara Alegres. The non-governmental organization provides food, afterschool programming and educational resources to families and children living at or below the poverty line.
Steketee’s experiences in Guatemala enhanced her International Law concentration and inspired her to establish a U.S.-based partner for Cara Alegres. Working with WVU Law’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Law Clinic, she has founded the nonprofit Friends of Cara Alegres, for which she serves as president and director of the board.
In summer 2018, Steketee clerked for Robinson and McElwee, PLLC, a defense firm in Charleston, West Virginia, that specializes in litigation, business, estate, environmental and employment law.
Steketee graduated from Marietta College in Ohio in 2017 with a B.A. in political science. As an undergraduate, she interned with the Marietta Municipal Court and the Public Defenders of Washington County.
She has also studied abroad in Belize, Costa Rica and Spain, where she taught weekly English lessons to mentally disabled adults in Barcelona. In her hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia, Steketee has coached youth soccer and worked as an electrician’s assistant. She is also certified as a Basic Wildfire Firefighter.
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