December 5, 2016
New York City’s historic and beautiful Metropolitan Club was a fitting backdrop for the Law School’s Law Loughlin Holiday Reception and Dinner on December 1, 2016.
The 190 attendees gathered to celebrate the Law School’s most generous donors. After welcome remarks from Law School Alumni Association President Richard F. Hans '93 and an invocation by Hon. Reinaldo E. Rivera '76L, '06HON, two current students spoke about their experience and gratitude as scholarship recipients.
Kaitlin Decker '17 started St. John’s Law as an evening student with a roster of personal and professional accomplishments that included two Sports Emmy Awards. She excelled academically and was selected as one of the Law School’s 2015 Federal Scholars, spending the summer interning with Hon. P. Kevin Castel '72SVC, '75L, ‘04HON, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Transferring to the full-time day program, Decker served on the St. John’s Law Review and, as a rising 3L, earned the prestigious position of editor-in-chief. In Fall 2017, she will start her legal career at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
A deep-rooted passion for helping those in need runs in the family of Caroline Fish '18, who is a licensed social worker. Believing that a legal education will enhance her ability to fight social injustice, Fish chose St. John’s Law and is thriving as an International Honors Program Scholar and a member of the St. John’s Law Review. She will spend the spring semester at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and will be a summer associate at DLA Piper, splitting her time in between New York and Paris.
Decker and Fish acknowledged the enormous generosity of the St. John’s Law alumni who helped to fund their scholarships. That same generosity and commitment to alma mater is behind record-setting alumni fundraising in the last few years, Dean Michael A. Simons then shared. Since 2013, under the Brennan Family Scholarship Matching Program, 68 new endowed scholarships have been established, bringing the total number of endowed scholarships at the Law School to 143 and bringing the scholarship endowment’s market value to $19.8 million.
Dean Simons also noted that, earlier in the week, the Law School’s 2016 Giving Tuesday campaign fielded 332 alumni donations that, with the Brennan match, totaled $54,200—funding a full-tuition scholarship for an incoming 1L next fall.
The St. John’s Law community will again celebrate extraordinary alumni generosity at the Annual Alumni Luncheon on January 27, 2017, when Belson Medals will be awarded to new Belson Circle members whose lifetime giving to the Law School exceeds $100,000. Hon. Joseph W. Bellacosa '59C, '61L, '87HON will receive the Law School's Lifetime Achievement Award and EJ Thorsen '08 will receive the Young Alumni Award at the Luncheon.
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