2017 Young ICCA Scholarship Winners Announced

It is with great pleasure that we announce the winners of this year's Young ICCA scholarships:

Graduate Institute Scholarship - Stasys Zelenekas
Tsinghua University Scholarship - Turgay Ishakoglu
University of Miami Law School Scholarship - Ivan Ignacio Bracho Gonzalez
 
Each of the Young ICCA Scholars took some time to complete a Young ICCA Proust Questionnare - get to know them by reading their answers below:

Ivan Ignacio Bracho Gonzalez

Age: 29
Hometown: Maracaibo, Venezuela
Current City: Miami
Current Employer: Not working at the time
Education: I got my law degree from “La Universidad del Zulia” which is my state’s University in Venezuela; additionally, I studied at “Universidad Catolica Andres Bello” a Specialization in Procedural Law. More recently, I graduated from the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University where I obtained an LL.M degree with a concentration in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
If you had to give an acceptance speech for this scholarship, what would your first line be?
If somebody had told me ten years ago that I would be giving this speech today, I wouldn’t have believed it.
What is your favorite virtue? Perseverance
What are your favorite qualities in another person? Courage
What is your chief characteristic? Forward Thinking
What is your main fault? Impatience
What is your favorite occupation? Lawyer
What is your idea of happiness? Having the opportunity of working as a lawyer in a place where my work could have a positive impact in the field. Also, going back home to my family every night.
What is your idea of misery? Being “stuck” in a position doing things “automatically” without no love, passion or commitment.
If not yourself, who would you be? Luis Almagro, Secretary General of OAS
Where would you like to live? Miami Beach
Who is your favorite prose author? Romulo Gallegos
Who is your favorite hero/heroine in fiction? Batman
Who is your hero in real life? Simon Bolivar
What historical person do you most dislike? Adolf Hitler
What is your favorite name? Martina
What do you hate the most? Incompetence
What is your natural talent? Leadership
What is your favorite arbitration-related decision? ICC Case No. 10623: Stating that the Arbitral Tribunal has discretion as to whether or not to comply with orders from domestic courts staying arbitration proceedings.
Who is your favorite arbitrator? Jan Paulsson
Who is your mentor? Nancy Rogers; Mediator and Professor of the Moritz College of Law
What is your motto? “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t; you are right” – Henry Ford

Stasys Zelenekas
Age: 27
Hometown: Prienai, Lithuania
Current City: Vilnius, Lithuania
Current Employer: law firm Sorainen
Education: Mykolas Romeris University (Vilnius, Lithuania) – Bachelor of Laws (2013); Mykolas Romeris University (Vilnius, Lithuania) and Université Savoie Mont Blanc(Chambéry, France) – Master of Laws in EU and International Business Law (2015)
If you had to give an acceptance speech for this scholarship, what would your first line be? Creativeness, self-development, openness to academic ideas and active participation in the community life – these are the least I am going to devote to benefit from the unique opportunities this scholarship has extended to me.
What is your favourite virtue? Openness and tolerance to different ideas and diverse approaches.
What are your favourite qualities in another person? Punctuality and sincerity.
What is your chief characteristic? Optimistic and keen on self-development.
What is your main fault? Engaging in useless activities.
What is your favourite occupation? A long swim in the morning.
What is your idea of happiness? Having something to share with other people.
What is your idea of misery? Abuse of human dignity.
If not yourself, who would you be? A researcher in the history of ancient Rome.
Where would you like to live?In a society where courts have no cases to hear and lawyers have no litigants to represent.
Who is your favourite prose author?Stefan Zweig.
Who is your favourite hero in fiction? The Master in the novel The Master and Margarita by M. Bulgakov.
Who is your hero in real life? My mother, who worked 24 hours a day to give proper education to his children without asking anything in exchange.
What historical person do you most dislike? The question actually deserves an explicit research.
What is your favourite name? Gabriel.
What do you hate the most? Irresponsibility.
What is your natural talent? All my talents are a matter of determination to fully contribute to the goals I aspire for.
What is your favourite arbitration-related decision? ECJ judgment in Gazprom case.
Who is your favourite arbitrator? Gary Born.
Who is your mentor? It would be unfair to name one when I have few of them.
What is your motto? A ciascuno il suo (It).

Turgay Ishakoglu 春刺
Age: 23
Hometown: Antioch / Hatay
Current City:  Shanghai
Current Employer: DHH Law Firm / Viewfin
Education: Tongji University, Shanghai, China (Chinese Language – 2012-2013): Fudan University, Shanghai, China (Law LL.B. 2013-2017); Université Catholique de Lyon, Lyon, France (Exchange Semester – French 2016); Tsinghua University – LL.M. International Arbitration and Dispute Settlement (IADS) (Expected: June 2018)
If you had to give an acceptance speech for this scholarship, what would your first line be? I am grateful and humbled.
What is your favourite virtue? Modesty.
What are your favourite qualities in another person? Sincerity, Wit, Awareness.
What is your chief characteristic? Honesty (Have been told so).
What is your main fault? Overthinking (Not necessarily always a fault though).
What is your favourite occupation? Having conversation that broaden one’s horizon.
What is your idea of happiness? Learning then utilizing the knowledge (ideally for the common good).
What is your idea of misery? Not questioning/thinking.
If not yourself, who would you be? A movie director, I wish.
Where would you like to live? Would love to discover different cultures and places as much as possible.
Who is your favourite prose author? Dostoyevski.
Who is your favourite hero/heroine in fiction? I’ll go for the Doctor. Who else has been saving the entire universe regularly?
Who is your hero in real life? Different ones for different aspects.
What historical person do you most dislike? These are tough questions.
What is your favourite name? Name is just the cover.
What do you hate the most? Mendacity and squandering.
What is your natural talent? Still trying to find out.
What is your favourite arbitration-related decision? Rainbow Warrior (NEW ZEALAND v. FRANCE) France-New Zealand Arbitration Tribunal. I had the pleasure to listen to this case from Mr. Born which also increased my interest in international arbitration.
Who is your favourite arbitrator? Who concerns as much as counsels.
Who is your mentor? Anyone I can learn from.
What is your motto? Since he already said it, I won’t rephrase. “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” Albert Einstein.