Scholarship Recognition Luncheon

Event brings students and donors together

—By Lori Craig

USC Law scholarship recipients and the donors who help make their education possible sat down together at the second annual Scholarship Luncheon Feb. 12.

Held at USC’s Town and Gown, the lunch was an opportunity for students and the law school to thank the generous donors who make it possible for some students to attend law school and help ease the burden of debt following graduation.

The event also recognized the achievements of the students awarded with scholarships.

Dean Robert K. Rasmussen thanked the nearly 30 donors in attendance and noted the talents of the 65 students dining with them.

“The fact of the matter is, some of these students wouldn’t be here but for your generosity,” Rasmussen said. “We would be a much poorer institution without these students in our midst.”

One of those students is Wende Nichols-Julien ’09, a Carolyn Craig Franklin Scholarship recipient who chairs the Moot Court Honors Program board and is active in public interest, having volunteered with Bet Tzedek.

A mother of three, Nichols-Julien began working full-time after high school to pay for her undergraduate education.

“To indebt myself would have been selfish,” she said. “I’m thankful to all our donors because if you look to your right, and if you look to your left, you’ll see some amazing students.”

Andrew C. Elken ’09, recipient of the Frank Rothman Scholarship, said his award helped convince him to choose USC Law.

An East Coast resident and graduate of Princeton University, the scholarship brought him to Los Angeles for a visit to the USC campus, where he learned more about the school and decided to enroll.

“I realized that the generosity of the USC Law alumni was well-deserving of its reputation,” Elken said. “I’m honored and humbled to carry on the legacy of Mr. Rothman.”

Donor and graduate Richard B. Kendall ’79, a senior partner at Irell & Manella, said that scholarships help ensure that USC Law students come from a breadth of social backgrounds and experiences. They also help clear the path to a public interest career by easing the “crushing debt” that forces some would-be public interest lawyers to join firms for several years before starting the work they truly want to do.

“It’s hard for me to imagine any better way to leverage a gift than to give it to someone who wants to go out in the world and achieve justice,” Kendall said.