Sue Trubow (right), widow of the late Professor George Trubow, with Ken Michaels, a John Marshall alumnus and former Trubow student, developed the Trubow Scholarship. They the presented the scholarship in April to Margaret Domanski, the first recipient.
Over the past year, The John Marshall Law School in Chicago has introduced four new scholarships in an effort to help relieve student debt. Among their first recipients is a mother earning her law degree while bravely fighting cancer, as well as law students providing legal help to U.S. veterans.
“We need scholarships like these to provide an excellent legal education that prepares our graduates to practice law, to promote and embrace diversity and to create a community that shares the values and vision of our founders,” John Marshall Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Ralph Ruebner said.
Dr. Eugene T. Leonard III Scholarship: The Dr. Eugene T. Leonard Scholarship was established by brothers and John Marshall alums, Joseph, Andrew and Matthew, in honor of their late father who encouraged and supported them. Mary Ellen Swee was the first student selected to receive the award.
Swee enrolled at John Marshall in 2010 but shortly after was diagnosed with stage 4 breast and bone cancer. She combined treatment with a minimal class schedule and was able to begin full-time course work in the summer of 2013. Swee isn’t the only member of her family attending law school, either. Her son, Joe Swee, enrolled at John Marshall a year after she did, and plans to graduate in January 2015.
William E. Rodriquez Memorial Scholarship: Nancy Piña-Campos, a first-generation American with a passion for real estate law, was the first recipient of this scholarship honoring John Marshall’s first Hispanic graduate. The scholarship was established by the law school in honor of William E. Rodriguez, who was a house painter when he enrolled at John Marshall, and was one of 57 graduates of the class of 1912. He went on to serve as an alderman in the Chicago City Council, and also helped found the Chicago chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Scholarship recipient Piña-Campos was the first in her family to graduate from college. Piña-Campos graduated with a bachelor’s degree in real estate investment and finance from DePaul and worked for several years at a law firm that focused primarily on foreclosures. The work piqued her interest in real estate law and its curriculum offered at John Marshall. Before earning her law degree this month, Piña-Campos served as president of John Marshall’s Real Estate Law Student Chapter of Lambda Alpha International.
George Trubow Memorial Scholarship: The inaugural George Trubow Memorial Scholarship honoring long-time professor George Trubow, was presented to Margaret Domanski, a third-year student. Trubow, who founded John Marshall Law School’s Center for Information Technology & Privacy Law, was a member of the faculty for 25 years. Under his direction, the law school established the Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law (previously the Journal of Computer and Information Law), and the International Moot Court Competition in Privacy Law.
Domanski, who graduated this month, served as the lead articles editor for the journal, and was a member of the Moot Court Honors Council. She represented John Marshall at the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, and would like to practice bankruptcy law in the future. During her career at John Marshall, Domanski has served as a legal intern at the West Cook Homeownership Center in Oak Park, and as a judicial extern for Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Margaret Ann Brennan. She also worked at Pierce and Associates PC as a foreclosure litigation assistant, and as a law clerk at the Law Offices of David J. Roe.
Veterans’ Assistance Book Scholarship in Honor of Mr. Gerald Schur: This scholarship honors Gerald Schur, who received his J.D. from John Marshall in 1963 and his LL.M. in 1968. Schur is an avid supporter of John Marshall’s military veteran students, as well as the school’s Veterans Legal Support Center & Clinic (VLSC). Students Benjamin Abrams, Breanna Zima and Melissa Peterson were the first students to be awarded the scholarship. This book award provides assistance to students working in the VLSC who often are too busy between their work at the clinic and their studies to take on paid employment. The scholarship was established to help those students who are serving those who served.