In this interview, Scott Levin, the Chief Peacekeeper, announces that Tayler Gospodarek has been awarded the 2023 Child of Divorce Scholarship. Tayler shares her background: she grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Wisconsin, and is now an incoming third‑year (3L) student at Rutgers Law School focusing on human rights, social justice, family law, and immigration. She is spending the summer at the ACLU of New Jersey and plans to remain on the East Coast after graduation. Tayler also discusses personal interests, noting she enjoys cooking, transitioned from a vegan diet to pescatarian, and still experiments with vegan recipes. Scott reflects on his own legal journey—studying at NYU, working with the Legal Aid Society, and clerking for death‑row inmates—to underscore the impact of public‑interest work. He offers continued mentorship, emphasizing that the scholarship is intended to support Tayler’s next steps, and expresses pride and best wishes for her future.
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Hey everybody, this is Scott Levin, Chief Peacekeeper. I'm here with Taylor Gospodaric. How are you, Taylor?
I'm doing well. How are you?
We have some exciting news for Taylor. So we have the Child of Divorce Scholarship that we do each year, and I am here to let Taylor know that she has been awarded the scholarship for this year, which we chose earlier this month. Taylor, congratulations.
Thank you so much. Really enjoyed actually applying and sharing my thoughts and my background with you. So I appreciate the thought and consideration.
Yeah. Tell everyone, where are you in school? So you're in— obviously you're in law school.
Yeah. So I'm actually originally from Wisconsin, a small town in Wisconsin. Went to the University of Wisconsin for undergrad, and now I'm on the East Coast. I'm an incoming 3rd-year law student at Rutgers Law School. Primarily focusing on human rights and social justice. So this summer I'm at the ACLU of New Jersey.
Wow.
Yeah.
Yeah. That's really interesting. So is your hope after your— you have one more year of law school. So law school is 3 years. So she's entering 3L. Are you hoping to stay in the New York, New Jersey area? Are you?
Yeah, I definitely am. I really like the East Coast and everything it has to offer, the resources out here and the organizations I've been able to partner with and work with are really invaluable to our community out here. So I'm looking forward to staying put.
Yeah, you know, I still— I went to NYU from '97 to 2001, a long time ago, I know. And during my time at NYU as an undergrad, I worked at the Legal Aid Society in Queens.
Okay.
We were, you know, I would basically tag along with criminal attorneys representing Clients, obviously, you know, vast majority minority clients.
Yes.
And very, very impactful on me. And then when I was at University of Virginia, that experience kind of led me to— I did a year-long clerkship representing, you know, post-murder conviction death row inmates in their appeal process. Obviously, the appeal process is, you know, very much weighed against them. I did that for a year, and I think that all stemmed from my experience in New York and the feeling and the energy of the city and the people and wanting to help. So I really commend you for what you're doing.
Thank you.
And you're brave enough. I think you mentioned that you're taking a family law class.
I am taking family law in the fall. I'm looking forward to it. You know, I kind of Worked a little bit with some family law-related things last summer and immigration specifically. So the intersectionality of those 2 items was really interesting. Looking forward to learn more.
Yeah. So do you have any other interests beyond school that you mind sharing?
Yeah, I guess personally, I'm a big cooker. I used to be vegan, so I was kind of forced to start cooking my own food because I would not be eating. But now I, I'm definitely much more like pescatarian, but I, I still love to, you know, indulge in, in cool vegan recipes and things like that.
Oh, that's great. Yeah, we love cooking here too. It's, it's, it's fun to come home after a tough day and, and just lose yourself in the, in the fun of cooking. But definitely, Taylor, we are really proud of you. As I mentioned before we started recording, that if you need anything going forward, you have someone in your corner here. And, and we just wish you the very best. My family, my firm, all of us want nothing but success for you. And we hope that this, this little scholarship, this small amount can help you get to your next steps a little better. So thank you for applying and thank you for being who you are.
Thank you. Thank you for taking the time and attention to, you know, focus on people who really appreciate it.
Thank you. Yeah. All right, y'all, we'll let you go. But congrats to Taylor and we'll see you soon.
