The John Marshall Law School held its 205th Commencement on May 20 at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. At this year’s spring commencement, the law school conferred 227 degrees, including 213 JDs and 14 LLMs.
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti (’98) delivered the commencement address. Sanguinetti is Illinois’s first Latina Lieutenant Governor. In 2010, Sanguinetti suffered an accident while walking on City of Wheaton property. Subsequent medical examinations revealed that she had Multiple Sclerosis, but Sanguinetti vowed to never let her diagnosis stop her. In 2011, she was elected to the Wheaton City Council on a platform of delivering efficient, streamlined government. After meeting Bruce Rauner at a convention of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, she joined his 2014 Illinois gubernatorial ticket and assumed office in January 2015.
John Marshall Professor Hugh Mundy received the Spring 2018 Lex Ancilla Justitiae Award. The award, which translates to “law is the servant of justice,” is given to the faculty member who the graduating class believes best embodies this guiding principle of education at John Marshall. Graduating student and Student Bar Association President Bria Riley presented the award to Professor Mundy.
The valedictory address was given by Nicolette L. Bartolameolli. Bartolameolli received her bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Louis University. While at John Marshall, Bartolameolli served as Staff Editor for The John Marshall Law Review, a council member of the Moot Court Honors Program and competed on the John J. Gibbons Criminal Procedure Moot Court Team. Bartolameolli took first place in the Dean Fred F. Herzog Moot Court Competition and was the highest-grade recipient in many of her courses; she is also the recipient of the John N. Jewett Scholarship and the Arba N. Waterman Scholarship.
Additionally, more than a dozen students received their diplomas from family members who also graduated from John Marshall. These students are referred to as legacy students.
Student Taso Tsiganos and recent graduate Amrita John received this year’s Lucy Sprague Public Service Award. The Lucy Sprague Public Service Award, named in memory of Lucy Sprague who attended John Marshall in 1995–1996, honors a John Marshall student who makes a significant commitment to public service. Made possible by a generous gift from the Sprague family, the first Lucy Sprague Service Award was bestowed on a John Marshall student in 1998.