November 17, 2009
On Tuesday,
October 20, 2009, donors and students alike gathered to meet each
other in the Mattone Family Atrium for the Third Annual Endowed
Scholarship Dinner. This event celebrates the generosity of
our benefactors and the students who received endowed
scholarships.
Christopher Linden 3L, the recipient of the Hon. Joseph W. and
Mary T. Bellacosa Scholarship, offered remarks regarding his
experiences as a St. John’s student. In reflecting on
the sharing of insights between the students, the alumni and
the faculty, he explained that, “this is something you really can’t
get out of a book.” Judge Bellacosa described the importance of
helping the students and reflected that the opportunity to meet
Christopher was “extraordinarily satisfying in a true human
sense.”
In his opening remarks, School of Law Dean Michael A. Simons
described the “Spirit of St. John’s” and exclaimed his optimism for
future generations of St. John’s students and alumni. Dean
Simons also expressed his gratitude for the contributions and
support of St. John’s vibrant alumni community and told the
attendees that “the students sitting at your tables are visible
manifestations of your generosity.”
Lucy Kostelanetz, whose father Boris, a 1936 graduate, established
the Boris Kostelanetz Scholarship Fund, said “my father would love
Lisa,” her student recipient. Lucy explained that her father
was very enthusiastic about the entry of women to the legal
profession in the 1970s and particularly cherished that the St.
John’s Law student community was “very warm and inclusive.”
Maria Marti ’93, serving her second year as president of the
Brooklyn Alumni Chapter, expressed her desire to “build upon the
former Chapter president’s legacy” and shared that her favorite
part of alumni events is, “meeting people and sharing positive
experiences about St. John’s.”
As the students and donors bid each other farewell, Erica Fine ’82,
who established the Ruth W. Fine Scholarship in honor of her
mother, offered the following words which captured the spirit of
the evening, “If you graduate from the Law School with a feeling of
camaraderie and an understanding that you should give back to
support the next generation of students, then St. John’s has done
its job and so have you.”
If you would like information about establishing an
endowed scholarship, plesae contact George Richardson,
Exectuive Director of Development and Alumni Relations at Richardg@stjohns.edu or
call 718-990-5792.