The York County Bar has a long history of collegial practice in York County. It offers two opportunities for current law students to experience the unique opportunities afforded here.  

The Richard P. Noll Scholarship

The Richard P. Noll Scholarship was established with a bequest from the estate of one of York’s well-known attorneys.  Each year, up to two York County residents attending law school are eligible to receive a scholarship, which last year was in the amount of $1,200. Students in all three years of law school are eligible for the award.  The Last Will and Testament of Richard P. Noll directs that the award be made to "… a deserving, needy law student from the greater York area.”  The Committee will make its selections by December 31 of each calendar year, and schools will be notified shortly afterwards of the selections.

The Honorable Clarence ("Chuck”) N. Patterson Diversity Internship Scholarship

The York County Bar Association (YCBA) and its charitable arm, the York County Bar Foundation (YCBF),  believe that, although it is important to promote more minorities to senior level positions within the legal profession, those efforts will be hampered if there are still too few minorities who decide to enter the profession in the first place.     

Beginning in 2005, the YCBA convened its Diversity Committee to look at ways in which diversity in the legal profession could be enhanced.  Programs were initiated to encourage minority students to consider law-related employment within the York community.  In 2007, the Diversity Committee encouraged the Bar Foundation to establish the Clarence “Chuck” N. Patterson Diversity Internship Scholarship program and began efforts to raise funds for this purpose.  The internship is named after the late Honorable Clarence Nicholas Patterson, Jr., who was a pioneer for diversity and served as York County’s first African-American judge.

The Clarence "Chuck” N. Patterson Diversity Internship Scholarship Program provides internship opportunities for eligible minority first or second year, full-time law students.  Interns receive $6,000 for a 10-week-long summer internship at the York County Office of the Public Defender.  

Meet the 2024 Honorable Clarence "Chuck" N. Patterson Diversity Internship Scholarship Recipients

Christie Page is a second-year law student at Penn State Dickinson Law. She attends Dickinson Law on a full-tuition merit scholarship and is a competition team member of their Moot Court team. Prior to attending law school, she received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami Frost School of Music and worked as an executive editor of a digital entertainment media company. She now lives in South Central PA with her fiancé and their son, who will turn 1 in the summer of 2024. Christie is a non-traditional law student, a first-generation college and professional student, and has had touch points with the Florida Department of Children and Families in her family. Throughout her adult life, Christie has advocated for women's rights, disability rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. She has been involved in fundraising for the Arthritis Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and the Christopher Ricardo Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She is passionate about protecting women's reproductive rights and the rights of queer individuals. This summer, she is excited to continue her internship at the York County District Attorney's Office and hopes to bring a diverse perspective to her work there. Christie hopes to remain in the York County DA's office following graduation.

Isaac Praseedom is originally from Cambridge, United Kingdom. It was always his intention to return to the US for the study of law. Isaac’s undergraduate studies were in Psychology at the University of Birmingham and the University of Minnesota Duluth, and he also obtained a Master of Arts in Law from the University of Law in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Prior to coming to law school, he worked as a paralegal en route to qualification in the UK. Currently a rising 3L at Penn State Dickinson Law, he has been involved in the Student Bar Association, American Constitution Society and Dickinson Law Review, and will serve as Vice President for the Criminal Law Society next year. Having worked at the Cumberland County Public Defender’s Office this past Spring, he is excited to work in the York County Public Defender’s Office over the summer and gain essential experience in the defense of the rights of individuals.