The Agosto Justice Center for Leadership and Empowerment at South Texas College of Law Houston selected five outstanding students to serve as Agosto Fellows for 2025-26.
Throughout the academic year, the fellows conduct research on topics related to access, justice, leadership, and empowerment, and they assist with the programming and initiatives of the Agosto Justice Center. In 2022, Benny Agosto, Jr., and his wife Nichole provided the initial funding to launch the Agosto Justice Center and to support the selection of students to serve as Agosto Fellows.
Read more about this year’s fellows:
Ali Ajani, 2L
After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from Texas A&M University, Ajani enrolled at STCL Houston. Ajani has served as a law clerk for Meade Neese & Barr, for the Hon. Michael P. Gomez with the 129th Civil District Court in Harris County, and for the Hon. Natalia Cornelio of the 351st District Court in Texas. Ajani recently received the Best Defense Attorney Award in the Harris County Civil Courthouse Mock Trial competition in August 2025.
Kea Bell, 2L
Bell graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she was a member of the Pre-Law Society. Prior to entering law school, Bell served as a legal assistant at the S.K. Johnson Law and as a paralegal at both Frazier Santiago Law & Title and Chavis Law, LLC. She also clerked for Frazier Santiago Law and Chavis Law until attending STCL Houston in 2025.
Junior Gallo, 3L
A graduate from Texas Southern University with a BBA in management information systems, Gallo is currently a law clerk in the litigations department at Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP. He completed a summer clerkship with the Cox Pradia Law Firm, PLLC, and an internship with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to entering law school, he was an analyst with USI Insurance, Alliantgroup, and Manhattan Life. Gallo also was a founding officer of South Texas Law’s Personal Injury Law Society in 2024.
Bijaar Ishaq, 2L
South Texas Law student Bijaar Ishaq received his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London’s Denning Law School in Karachi, Pakistan, where he was named national champion at the Philip C. Jessup Moot Court Competition in 2021. He later served as an advocacy and moot court coach for the law school until relocating to Texas in 2024. Ishaq recently worked as a summer law clerk with Sorrels Law and serves as vice president of both the South Asian Law Students Association and the Muslim Legal Society.
Clayton Rainey, 2L
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at San Antonio, Rainey worked as a paralegal at Wyatt Law Firm, PLLC, Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP, and at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner. Rainey currently serves as a paralegal with Paranjpe, Mahadass, Reumke, LLP. Rainey is a member of the law school’s Personal Injury Law Society and the Black Law Students Association, as well as a student ambassador to the Office of Admissions and a mentor to two students in the school’s mentor/mentee program.
