Penn State Law S.J.D. student wins Brazilian Bar Association human rights award

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Daniel Odon, a Penn State Law student studying for his Doctorate in Juridical Science (S.J.D.), has won the inaugural Mauricio Correa Human Rights Award from the Brazilian Bar Association.

A lawyer in Brazil, Odon was honored for an article he wrote for the Brazilian Bar Association’s law journal about how to promote human rights by applying the law. The award is named for Mauricio Correa, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice and long-time humanitarian activist who died earlier this year.  

 “My mind is directed to make a difference,” says Odon, who enrolled at Penn State Law to enhance his qualifications to promote human rights. “I want to change the academic discourse and change the legal decision-making process to impact human lives on a large scale.”

He acknowledges the tradition of lawyers in his family for instilling him with the desire for the profession, but credits Penn State Law professor Larry Backer with motivating him to promote human rights on an international scale. Backer is Odon’s adviser for his thesis on public international humanitarian decision making.

 “I love international work, and working with human dilemmas on a global scale is where I feel like I can make an impact,” he says.