Austin Law Firm's Scholarship Winner Challenges Outdated Cosmetics Regulation

Bertolino LLP, an Austin-based law firm known for defending Texas licensed professionals, has awarded its 2026 Impact in Government Scholarship to Ajok "Jolie" Bul, a student at Southern Methodist University. The $2,500 scholarship, detailed on the firm's Impact in Government Scholarship page, invited applicants to answer one of two prompts. Bul chose to address what law today will be obsolete by 2075, and her video, "When Beauty Becomes Medicine," focuses on a regulatory contradiction in sunscreen regulation.

In her video, Bul points out that South Korea regulates sunscreen as a functional cosmetic, while the United States classifies it as an over-the-counter drug. She argues that as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and personalized skincare advance, the legal distinction between cosmetics and drugs may not survive the next 50 years. This issue matters to Texas businesses in the skincare and biotechnology sectors, as regulatory frameworks shape product development, marketing, and cross-border trade. The firm, which has represented professionals across dozens of regulated fields since 2003, highlights Bul's forward-thinking approach as an example of the kind of analysis needed in government and business.

Bul brings firsthand experience to the topic. She founded Nile Glow, a social-impact skincare initiative that supports fair-wage employment for young women in South Sudan. That experience, she said, gave her a practical understanding of the beauty industry. "When I encountered the prompt asking what law today might be obsolete by 2075, I immediately thought of the inconsistency in how a product as simple as sunscreen is regulated," Bul shared. "That contradiction became the foundation for my video."

The selection committee was also impressed by Bul's achievements outside the classroom. She is one of 11 students in the NexPoint John G. Tower Scholars Program, a competitive four-year interdisciplinary cohort focused on global economic systems and policy analysis. She is the only Tower Scholar to conduct original research on U.S.-Japan trade relations, which she presented at the Sun & Star Business and Geopolitics Symposium co-hosted with Kwansei Gakuin University. She has been recognized as a Gerald & Gail Turner Scholar and serves as Director of Programming for the Association of Black Students, where she increased freshman meeting attendance by more than 60 percent. Additionally, she worked as a Brand & Marketing Outreach Intern for HANDS International in partnership with UNICEF, helping generate more than $150,000 in international funding to support more than 20 girls displaced by conflicts in the Middle East. She also volunteers with Hope Farm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity and the SMU African Student Association.

The scholarship will support Bul's studies in Economics with Financial Applications, with minors in Public Policy & International Affairs and Business Administration. She plans to pursue a career at the intersection of business, government, and international development. Bertolino LLP, which built its practice around the principle that a professional's license represents years of training and dedication, continues to invest in future leaders through this scholarship. Students interested in next year's scholarship can find updated eligibility criteria and application details on the scholarship's terms and conditions page. For more information about the firm, visit Bertolino LLP.