April 03, 2006
Thomas Jefferson hosts ever popular Diversity Week
Thomas Jefferson hosted its annual “Diversity Week” from March 27 to March 31, showcasing the diverse range of minority and ethnic law students at the Law School. The week-long celebration offered a variety of events and concluded with a picnic at Pepper Grove Park in Balboa Park on April 2.
The Diversity Week schedule of events was coordinated by an array of TJSL student organizations. "Media Day" kicked off the week with La Raza informational flyers placed in students' mailboxes. The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association also welcomed alumna Darlene Palaganas ('97), a partner at the law firm of Fitzmaurice Demergian & Palaganas. Ms. Palaganas, who is president of the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego and was past president of the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego, spoke on her experiences while a student at Thomas Jefferson and how she became a partner in a law firm, and the importance of diversity in the workplace.
The TJSL student chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and the International Law Society/Amnesty International showed a film on the international death penalty titled "The Exonerated." Tim Spann, an Amnesty International regional expert on the death penalty, followed with a presentation.
The ever popular Diversity Luncheon took place midweek in the newly landscaped Courtyard. The luncheon was sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, La Raza, and the Black Law Students Association.
Left: TJSL students Odeha Warren (left) and Jasmin Green
get ready to serve lunch.
Right: APALSA president Patricia Miranda (left) and
TJSL alumna Kathy Philips Aguon.
Heily Hernandez of La Raza serves lunch to TJSL students.
To conclude Diversity Week, La Raza introduced its LEAP program (Legal Educational Access Program). The program, aimed at helping students of diverse backgrounds get the most out of their legal education, entertained 20 high school students from Crawford High School for a half day of learning about law school as La Raza members served as their mentors and showed them around campus. Some of the high school students, ranging from ninth grade to eleventh grade, have already made a head start in the legal realm by competing in their school’s Moot Court competitions and enrolling in various law classes.
TJSL student Heily Hernandez (left) and TJSL alumna
Karina Johnson (right) converse with Crawford High School students prior to the start of the LEAP Program.
TJSL student Rut Coronel (left) chats
with Crawford High students.
Beth Kransberger, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, gave opening remarks about the program, followed by Dean Rudy Hasl. The high school students were treated with one-on-one sessions with a TJSL student, asking questions about law school life and their ambitions. A Q&A session and a visit to Professor Susan Bisom-Rapp’s Torts II class then followed. The event concluded with a lunch and an informative presentation by the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association’s Victor Nunez and Lilia Garcia. The LEAP program was sponsored by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC).
Assistant Dean Kransberger speaks to Crawford High students
as part of TJSL's LEAP Program.
Dean Hasl, sporting a "Diversity" T-shirt, offers encouraging words
to the students of Crawford High School.
TJSL student Renee Galente speaks one-on-one
with Crawford High students.
TJSL student Melissa Rhee answers questions
from Crawford High students.
TJSL student Jasmin Green listens intently
to Crawford High School students.
TJSL student Mindy Facer shares a happy moment
with students from Crawford High School.
Crawford High students absorb information on law school life.
Students of Crawford High ask questions about TJSL.
Crawford High students bring on smiles during the Q&A session
with TJSL students.
Left: Lilia Garcia, San Diego's Supervising Deputy Attorney General, offers advice during her talk to Crawford High School students.
Right: Victor Nunez, Deputy D.A. for the San Diego District Attorney's Office, gives an inspirational talk to students
of Crawford High.
From left: TJSL students Renee Galente and Rut Coronel, TJSL alumna Karina Johnson ('05), TJSL student Heily Hernandez, Lilia Garcia, and Victor Nunez.