Spring 2026 Winner of the Second Chances Scholarship

Katherine Daily

Katherine Daily has been awarded $1,000 for the Spring 2026 Second Chances Scholarship. The adversity Katherine faced as a child prepared her for the immense challenges she would face through adolescence. Katherine’s story exemplifies her resilience and hardwork.

Read their essay:

At ten years old my father sat my siblings and me down at the kitchen counter and unfolded a sheet of paper with our family tree drawn on it. Nearly every name on the sheet was circled in red ink. My siblings and mine were left untouched. My father explained, “Every single name that is circled on this sheet has struggled with addiction.” He meant it as a warning, but to me it felt like a verdict waiting to be carried out.

Addiction did not remain an abstract concept on a crumpled up piece of paper. It became the backdrop of my childhood. My father cycled in and out of rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities. My once happy childhood home was overtaken with the constant smell of wine and the sound of shouting. Over time, I became convinced that my circumstances were irreparable. I often wondered what the point of trying could be if my path seemed preordained.

However, what I once saw as an inevitable fate I now see as a challenge to overcome. Every test I passed, every healthy relationship I built, and every moment I chose resilience became reminders that my fate was not predetermined. The belief that there is no situation too dire to mend and no statistic too daunting to defy has shaped nearly every aspect of my life and has followed me into my professional experiences.

While interning at the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, I worked on document review for Connecticut v. ExxonMobil, a case seeking to hold corporations accountable for climate change. Reading through decades of evidence of corporate deception, it would have been easy to see the case as too entrenched to fix. But in that office, I saw the opposite. I saw how persistence could challenge even the most intimidating problems. Other internships, including at Porter Wright Morris and Arthur LLP and Climate Change Awareness and Action Organization, reinforced this lesson.

These professional experiences deepened what my personal life had already taught me, that persistence in the face of daunting odds can lead to real change. Systems, like people, can be rebuilt. I want to pursue a legal career in public interest because I believe that no issue is too large or ingrained to fix. Just as I refuse to let a circle on a family tree determine my future, I refuse to accept that our social and political crises are beyond repair.

I have recently been accepted to the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. Attending law school in Washington, D.C. surrounded by opportunities to make change and an impact in public interest law is a lifelong dream of mine. As a first generation law student who is independently paying for my education, I would love the opportunity to have the financial means to achieve this dream. I appreciate you considering me for this scholarship.