May 24, 2006  (Houston, TX) — Sarah Mayer has a passion for physics. Nicholas Winn wants to start his own law firm. Marisol Alvarado seeks to cure breast cancer. Oluwatosin Agbabiaka is the son of a Nigerian Lawyer. Jennifer Angarita is an artist and an athlete. And Jeremy Constancio worries that Americans' civil liberties are in jeopardy.

The six have never met. But this month, each of them graduates from high school with a strong desire to change the world using the law. All are headed to college this fall to fulfill that dream, thanks in part to a $10,000 scholarship awarded to each of them this week by the Vinson & Elkins Minority Student Scholarship Foundation.

Every year, Vinson & Elkins LLP awards six scholarships to minority students in Texas. The students come from lower-income households, have good grades and express an interest in law. As part of the scholarship, the students will receive $2,500 a year for four years to put toward the cost of  tuition or living expenses. The students also are offered full-time paid internships at the law firm during their summer and winter vacations.

Since V&E; created the Minority Scholarship 16 years ago, 85 Texas teenagers have gone to college with the help of the program. Six are now lawyers. Six more are currently in law school. Several are teachers. One is a journalist. Another is a vice president at Goldman Sachs.

"The purpose of this scholarship is to promote diversity, while also recognizing that there are a lot of teenagers out there who want to go to college and who want to make a difference, but they just need a little extra help," said Jim Reeder, a partner in V&E;'s Houston office and chairman of the scholarship program. "These six students are amazing. They will make our communities a better place to live and work. And it starts with education."

The 2006 V&E; Scholars are:

• Oluwatosin Agabiaka of Katy High School in Houston. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Tosin is an eloquent communicator who plans to pursue a possible double major in English and political science at Duke University prior to seeking his law degree. He is the son of a Nigerian lawyer and said he has DNA "seemingly concocted from legal briefs." His passion for law comes from his background as well as his studies.
• Marisol Alvarado of LBJ Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School in Austin. Marisol will attend Rice University in the fall, majoring in biomedical engineering. Marisol wants to cure breast cancer, invent a more comfortable mammogram machine and research more soothing skin grafting for burn victims. In addition, she wants to major in pre-law and involve herself in public affairs because of her interest in law enforcement.
• Jennifer Angarita of Hillcrest High School in Dallas.  Jennifer has been a member of the Key Club, a community-service organization, for the duration of her high school career.  This varsity cross-country athlete will attend Yale University this fall to cultivate her interest in law. She is currently one of the few teenagers in Dallas to sit on the City of Dallas Youth Commission - a special group that advises the Dallas City Council about broad topics affecting youth.
• Jeremy Constancio of David Crockett High School in Austin. Jeremy will attend Columbia University in the Fall, where he plans to major in American studies with concentrations in history, sociology and human rights with the goal of law school four years from now. Jeremy is active in his local community by participating in National Honor Society service projects.  This summer Jeremy will work at Vinson & Elkins during the day as a student intern, part of the scholarship.  In the evenings, he will be working at Lowe's in order to save money for this fall at Columbia.
• Sarah Mayer of Cypress Creek High School in Houston. Sarah is attending Yale University in the fall and wants to combine her interest in physics, engineering and law in pursuit of a degree in patent and intellectual property law.  While excelling at math and science, Sarah also led her high school band this past year as drum major.
• Nicholas Winn of Nimitz High School in Houston. Nic is highly regarded by his teachers as having "amazing self-discipline," and that they "have rarely encountered a student his age more willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve a goal."  Nic was editor-in-chief of his high school Yearbook and a volunteer during his high school's hurricane relief drive  for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.  He will be attending the University of Houston in the fall and has aspirations to become a lawyer and eventually start his own firm.

"To me, the scholarship means more than just financial help.  I am very excited about having the opportunity to work around lawyers and gain hands-on experience in the legal field," said Jeremy Constancio, one of the two scholarship recipients from Austin.  "I am eager to know what it is like to work at a law firm and think that this will be great on my resume when applying to law school.  Also, considering the cost of a cup of coffee in New York City, the money I'll earn will be a big help for everyday expenses."

Sarah Mayer agrees with Jeremy.  "It is such a huge honor to me to receive this scholarship and I'm very excited to begin my internship," she said.  "It's really incredible to know that Vinson & Elkins is going to continue a relationship with me beyond just writing a check to my college each year.  It's great to know that they really care."  Tosin Agbabiaka shares the same sentiment as Sarah, saying that "it's a great opportunity to be able to have an internship like this before even heading off to college; most students don't have the opportunity to work in such a professional environment until after they've begun their college career."

This month, a former recipient of the V&E; Minority Scholarship, Wendolynn Montoya, graduates with a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Ms. Montoya received a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a master's degree from Harvard University. In September, she will join V&E; as an associate in the firm's Public Finance Section in Houston.

"As a young student, it made quite an impression upon me that a law firm of this magnitude and stature took the time to recognize a need in underprivileged communities and fill it," said Ms. Montoya. "This scholarship is just one small testament amongst many others of the continued effort of the firm to helping its surrounding communities."

For more information please contact Ashley Battelle, communications coordinator, at 713.758.2052 or via e-mail at abattelle@velaw.com.

Vinson & Elkins was established in 1917 and is one of the world's largest international law firms. The firm has more than 700 lawyers practicing in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Washington D.C. Vinson & Elkins offers a wide range of legal services. Clients include public and private companies, financial institutions, municipalities, governments of sovereign nations, entrepreneurs, families and individuals.