AUWCL’s Myers Society Hosts Legends & Leaders Dinner

April 8, 2019

Myers Society Chairman Tom Morante '77, Myers Law Scholarship recipient Lisa Ndembu Lumeya, Dean Camille Nelson, and Myers Law Scholarship recipient Stephanie M. Daigle.
Myers Society Chairman Tom Morante '77, Myers Scholarship recipient Lisa Ndembu Lumeya, Dean Camille Nelson, and Myers Scholarship recipient Stephanie M. Daigle.

On April 6, American University Washington College of Law presented the inaugural Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the John Sherman Myers Society.

The celebratory event honored the dedication and philanthropy of the extended AUWCL community, along with this year’s numerous scholarship recipients, including 2018-19 Myers Law Scholarship recipients 2L Lisa Ndembu Lumeya and 3L Stephanie M. Daigle. Tom Morante ’77, chair of the Myers society, served as emcee for the evening.

The Myers Society, AUWCL’s most prestigious annual giving society, was established to honor former Dean John Sherman Myers and his wife, Alvina Reckman Myers, who dedicated their professional lives and personal wealth to AUWCL and our students. Since its inception more than three decades ago, the Myers Society has had a visible impact on AUWCL students by providing critical funding for scholarships, technological developments, facilities, academic initiatives, and student services.

In her remarks, AUWCL Dean Camille Nelson thanked those Myers Society members in attendance for their continued support.  

“Your continued involvement with WCL makes an enormous difference in the lives of our students, and in the capacity of Washington College of Law to continue to deliver an excellent, impactful, and transformational education,” Nelson said.

Alumni Awards and Recognition

Professor David Aaronson with Ambassador Connie Morella, Paul Morella, American University Chairman of the Board Jack Cassell.
Professor David Aaronson with Ambassador Connie Morella, Paul Morella, American University Chairman of the Board Jack Cassell.

During the dinner, Professor David Aaronson, director of AUWCL’s nationally recognized Stephen S. Weinstein Trial Advocacy Program and AUWCL’s Advocacy LL.M Program, delivered remarks in celebration of the soon-to-be named Tony Morella Trial Advocacy Offices. Professor of Law Emeritus and former co-director of the program Tony Morella ’58, who was represented at the dinner by his wife, Ambassador Connie Morella CAS/MA '67, and his son, Paul Morella, was acknowledged for his generous contributions to AUWCL and the continued success of the program. The pair were presented with the plaque that will soon hang outside of the advocacy offices.

Dean Nelson presented Penny Wakefield ’79 with the Lifetime Philanthropy Award, given to a member of the AUWCL Community whose dedication to philanthropy is demonstrated over a significant number of years. Wakefield has served as Executive Director of the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, along with holding various legal and policy positions with the National Criminal Justice Associations and the Environmental Law Institute. As a dedicated alumna, Wakefield has continued to serve the AUWCL community, including making continuous gifts to the college for the past 37 years. In 2007, Wakefield received the AUWCL Women and the Law Leadership Award.

The evening’s Founders Award was presented to Morante by incoming Myers Society Chair Eric Huang ’05. The Founders Award is given to a member of the AUWCL community whose considerable dedication, service, and generosity have significantly advanced the mission of the law school.

Honoring our 2019 Myers Scholars

Image Caption
2L Lisa Ndembu Lumeya thanks her family for their continued support during the Legends & Leaders dinner.

The Myers Law Scholarship, AUWCL’s most prestigious donor award, provides one-year scholarships to full-time JD students who show academic promise and performance and demonstrate financial need. Scholarships are funded up to 125 percent of tuition.

With their academic and personal achievements, as well as active and generous engagement within the AUWCL community, Daigle and Lumeya were chosen by the selection committee from a pool of nearly 50 applicants. This year’s committee consisted of Professors Amanda Leiter and Llezlie Green Coleman, and Senior Associate Dean Susan Carle.

Lisa Ndembu Lumeya
A second-year student who speaks Swedish, French, and Lingala, Lumeya worked last year at the Carter Center in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, as a human rights intern. There, she drafted weekly reports in French and English analyzing human rights abuses in four DRC provinces. Lumeya is completing an international dual degree with Universite Paris-Nanterre in France. After graduation, she plans to come back to the States and clerk for a year before pursuing a career in prosecuting international crimes.

Read Lumeya's Myers speech here.

3L Stephanie Daigle speaks about her professional and personal journey during the Legends & Leaders dinner.
3L Stephanie Daigle speaks about her professional and personal journey during the Legends & Leaders dinner.

Stephanie M. Daigle
Third-year student Daigle interned full-time with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Washington, D.C., in the Resettlement Unit the summer after her second year of law school. Daigle, who is also working toward her MA in International Affairs through the AU school of International Service, participated in AUWCL’s Kovlar Project Against Torture, conducting research and preparing briefing on treatment practices in countries signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture.

Read Daigle's Myers speech here.

Please see below the photo gallery for a full list of 2018-19 scholarship recipients. 

American University Chairman of the Board Jack Cassell greets attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner.
Attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Edna Ruth Vincent '89 and Judge Gerald Bruce Lee '76 attend the Legends & Leader Dinner.
Attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Attendees at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Myers Law Scholarship recipient Stephanie M. Daigle with Legends & Leaders attendees.
AUWCL Professor and Assistant Dean of Adjunct Faculty Affairs Bill Snape attends the Legends & Leaders Dinner.
Associate Dean for Library and Information Resources Billie Jo Kaufman and Program on Law and Government Director Fernando Laguarda with Legends & Leaders attendees.
Myers Law Scholarship recipient Lisa Ndembu Lumeya hugs AUWCL Professor Angela J. Davis at the Legends & Leaders Dinner.
AUWCL Dean Camille Nelson addresses the crowd at the Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the Myers Society.
Myers Society Chair Tom Morante ’77 embraces incoming Myers Society Chair Eric Huang ’05.
Myers Society Chair Tom Morante ’77 is presented with the Founders Award by incoming Myers Society Chair Eric Huang ’05.
Incoming Myers Society Chair Eric Huang ’05, current Myers Society Chair Tom Morante ’77, Myers Law Scholarship recipient Stephanie M. Daigle, AUWCL Dean Camille Nelson, and Myers Law Scholarship recipient Lisa Ndembu
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2019 Legends & Leaders Dinner

On April 6, American University Washington College of Law presented the inaugural Legends & Leaders Dinner, hosted by the John Sherman Myers Society.

2018-19 Scholarship Recipients

Anonymous AUWCL Endowed Scholarship
Colin Wescott, May ’19

Arbenz Family Scholarship
Monika Klinkman, May ’19

Mary C. Arends Endowed Scholarship
Rachel Morris, May ’21

Kenneth and Patricia Auberger Endowed Scholarship
Ericka Cruz, May ’20
India James-Flemister, May ’19
Andrew Urueta, May ’19

AUWCL Anonymous Endowment Scholarship
Mariam Jaffery, May ’20

AUWCL Dean’s Merit Endowed Scholarship
Kevin Serafino, May ’20

AUWCL International Students Endowed Scholarship
Ciara Beaulieu, May ’20
Lorenzo Ricchi, May ’20

AUWCL Law Review & Journal Endowed Scholarship
James Sullivan, May ’20

Sandra W. Barron ’79 and David A. Barron ’77 Scholarship
Cara Mazor, May ’19

Gerald Battist IP Endowed Scholarship
Amber Barreda, May ’19
Zachery Olah, May ’19

Centennial Endowed Scholarship
Molly Prindle, May ’20

James and Leona Cobb Endowed Scholarship
Jazmyne Arnett, May ’20

Michael Cochran Memorial Scholarship
Folashade Oladipo, May ’19

Grace Markel Daish Scholarship
Elzbieta Michalowska, May ’20

James Day Energy and Natural Resources Scholarship Fund
Brian Malat, May ’20
Melissa Martin, May ’19

James C. Eastman Endowed Scholarship
Susey Davis, May ’20

Phyllis Freeman Endowed Scholarship
Sophia Nnadi, May ’20

Raymond I. Geraldson Student Award in International and Humanitarian Law
Marcela Velarde, May ’19

Albin Gess ’71 Scholarhsip
Grant Olan, May ’18

Emalee C. Godsey Endowed Scholarship
Laila Ayub, May ’19

June L. Green Endowed Scholarship
Emily Osofsky, May ’20

Claudio Grossman International Scholarship
Maria Kanevskaya, Dec. ’20

Sandra P. Grosso Memorial Scholarship
Connie Potter, May ’20

Ray Hazen Student Bar Association Endowed Scholarship
Joseph Epstein, May ’20
Andrea Kelly, May ’20
Jenna Ruddock, May ’20

Amanda C. Howe Marshall-Brennan Memorial Scholarship
Ericka Cruz, May ’20

ILSP Alumni Fund Scholarship
Veronica Cruz, Summer ’19
Amasara Gajadeera, Summer ’19
Lena Petrovic, May ’19
Feyza Soylu, May ’19
Jun Jun Zhou, Dec. ’19

Professor Cynthia E. Jones Scholarship
Hannah Roberts, May ’19

Fred R. Joseph Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Dalya Kefi, May ’19

John & Tyna Karl Employee Rights Scholarship
Baili Volluz, May ’19

Judge Seymour Korn Scholarship
Jojuan Gross, May ’20

Morris & Claire Krauthamer Prize in Disabilities Law
Keri Vandeberg, May ’20

Leadership Endowed Scholarship
Sarah Cullum, May ’19
Brittany Stanek, May ’20

Belva A. Lockwood Scholarship
Abigail Forth, May ’20

Arthur Mathews Memorial Scholarship
Lauren Hoffman, May ’20

Leonard and Miriam Melrod Endowed Scholarship
Brianna Gardner, May ’19
Victoria Kadous, May ’20

Elliot S. Milstein Endowed Scholarship
Laurel Anderson, May ’19

John Sherman Myers Alumni Scholarship
Lindsey Miller, May ’19

David B. Newman, Jr. and Kathryn Riley Newman Prize for Trial Advocacy
Austin Wallick, May ’20

Sandra J. Oakman Memorial Scholarship
Teagan Sebba, May ’20

Dora Palkin (1916) Memorial Scholarship
Tara Schimpf, May ’21

Marcy C. Panzer & Manny D. Pokotilow Endowed Scholarship
Nicholas Johnson, May ’22

Nicholas Papain ’78 and Pauline A. Papain Endowed Scholarship
Rachel Buntrock, May ’19

Colonel Kenneth W. Patrum, Esq. Scholarship
Joy Applewhite, May ’21
Ebonee Johnson, May ’21
Paige Poupart, May ’21

Paul P. Purta Scholarship
Sara Casado, May ’20

Laura Reckman Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Elizabeth Gilbert, May ’19
Shally Kim, May ’19
Lauren Sager, May ’20

Elizabeth F. Reed and Ernest E. Salisbury Endowed Scholarship
Tiara Bonet, May ’19

Robert D. Reif Fellowship
Neah Evering, May ’19

Paul R. Rice Scholarship in Evidence
Ramy Simpson, May ’19

Lisa Rickland Scholarship
Elysia Morelli, May ’20

Peter S. Ridley, Jr. ’70 Memorial Scholarship
Helena Daniel, May ’20
Mikell Washington, May ’20

Seymour J. Rubin Endowed Scholarship in International Studies
Augusto Solis Rodriguez, May ’19

Paul J. Sedgewick ’24 Endowed Scholarship
Raymond Navarro, May ’20

Thelma Casto Southard Award
Hardin Cox, May ’19
Cristina Gil, May ’20
Jessica Maloney, May ’19
Mary Richardson, May ’19

Stephen and Beatrice Dodd Toth Scholarship
Kaitlin Eckrote, May ’19
Randa Medley, May ’20
Stephanie Wald, May ’19

Ves Vorobyev Scholarship
Ami Patel, May ’20

Edward J. Walker Endowed Clinical Scholarship
Kelly Robier, May ’19

Washington College of Law Scholarship
Derek Centola, May ’20

Sherry Weaver Scholarship
Brian Malat, May ’20

John Cobourn Webb Endowed Scholarship
Alice Browning, May ’19
Justin Stone, May ’19

Mark K. Wilson Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Elizabeth Mapelli, May ’19

Robert J. Woldow Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Jimmy Valenzuela Garcia, May ’20