Two students at the School of Law have been recognized for their academic achievements. Kieran Raney received the 2025 Justice Pamela Burgy Minzner Award, and Rachel Swanteson-Franz was honored with the 2025 Salazar Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
The Justice Pamela Burgy Minzner Award is given each year to a law student entering their final year who has shown excellence in professionalism and legal ethics. The award was established in 2014 by Richard C. Minzner, an attorney at the Rodey Law Firm, to honor Pamela Burgy Minzner, who was the first female Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court.
Kieran Raney expressed gratitude upon receiving the award: “I want to give my utmost thanks to Mr. Minzner for his incredible generosity, because it is thanks to those like him that I am able to attend law school. Justice Minzner has always been described as someone of exceptional character who has permanently shaped the character of our legal community. Someone who was thoughtful, intelligent, genuine, and compassionate. I do not see this award as just the greatest honor of my time in law school, but a call to embody these values in the future. As a transgender person, I never imagined there would be a place for me in the legal field. I chose UNM in no small part due to how welcoming it has been, and I am so grateful for my community here. I see this moment to be as much a reflection of you all, because together we make each other so much better.”
The Salazar Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement is awarded annually to the student with the highest cumulative grade point average at the end of their second year at law school. John P. Salazar and his wife Terri established this prize in 2013 in memory of Salazar’s late uncle Tibo J. Chavez, who served as lieutenant governor of New Mexico and as a member of the New Mexico Senate.
Rachel Swanteson-Franz commented on receiving her award: “I am so grateful for Mr. Salazar and his family for their generosity and support. Mr. Tibo J. Chavez has left an incredible legacy and truly exemplified what it means to be a part of New Mexico’s wonderful community. I hope that one day soon I can pay this support forward to the next generation and do my part in giving back to New Mexico. Of course, my academic success has little to do with me, and everything to do with the support of my family and friends as well as the mentorship of wonderful professors.”
Both students were congratulated by faculty members for earning these distinctions.
