Sixteenth Annual Cicchino Public Service Awards Dinner

Angela Davis and Jonathan Rapping
Professor Angela Davis with Keynote, Jonathan Rapping

Faculty, staff, alumni, and the Cicchino family joined together on April 23 for the Sixteenth Annual Cicchino Public Service Awards Dinner.  The event featured remarks from public service advocates, along with award recipients, who were acknowledged for their achievements in public service.  The AUWCL community was motivated by the words of the keynote speaker, Jonathan Rapping, President and Founder of Gideon’s Promise.

Professor Angela Davis not only acquired the keynote speaker for the dinner but also provided an exciting introduction to Mr. Rapping.  This year’s Public Interest Committee chair, Professor Susan Bennett, contributed to the success of the Cicchino Awards Dinner through her strong leadership and collaboration with the public interest community.  Assistant Director for the Office of Public Interest, Jasmeet Sidhu, worked diligently to recognize the 180 students in the Class of 2015 who completed the Pro Bono Honors Pledge. Ms. Sidhu also worked with the Assistant Director for Public Service Careers, Laura Scott, to identify Presidential Management Fellows Finalists and those students who received prestigious public interest fellowships. Public interest student leaders, including the Class of 2015 Public Interest Public Service Scholars, the AUWCL Black Law Students Association Rising Star Awardee, and the AUWCL Asian Pacific American Law Students Association Student Service Awardee, were acknowledged at the event as well. However, the opportunities for these programs to thrive are in response to the efforts of Jennifer Dabson, Director of Special Events.

Given the accomplishments of this year’s graduates, the event praised those students who would be embarking on a career in public service through fellowship programs.  Some of the students offered these fellowships included:

The community also celebrated a record-breaking year in pro bono service amongst AUWCL students, with the Class of 2015 performing over 64,500 hours of pro bono service, surpassing all prior records.

The event concluded by presenting awards to Laura Zeilinger ’05, recipient of the Equal Justice Foundation Alumni Achievement Award, and the recipients of the 2015 Peter M. Cicchino Awards for Outstanding Advocacy in the Public Interest.  The winners were:

  • Pious Ahuja ’15 – Winner in the Category of Current Washington College of Law Student
  • Edna Yang ’02 – Winner in the Category of Alumna or Alumnus Whose Work is Primarily in the United States
  • Sarah Rempel ’07 – Winner in the Category of Alumna or Alumnus Whose Work is Primarily Abroad or in International Law

View more photos from the event here.

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