Friday, April 24, 2009
Wed, 08 Nov 2006
Tashell J. Thompson, a first-year law student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a scholarship winner representing Liberty University School of Law at the Sixth Annual Oliver W. Hill-Samuel W. Tucker Scholarship Dinner. The annual event, sponsored by the Richmond Chapter of the Old Dominion Bar Association and the Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, was held this year on October 26 at the Omni Hotel in Richmond. Scholarship winners from law schools around the Commonwealth of Virginia were announced at the dinner.
First-year, minority law students are invited to write essays on such topics as “How I have benefited from the work of Oliver W. Hill and Samuel W. Tucker.” The late Samuel W. Tucker, was a distinguished lawyer who helped to secure rights for blacks, specifically in the area of school desegregation. Mr. Hill, who will turn 100 in May 2007, was the first African-American on the City Council of Richmond, Virginia. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President William J. Clinton on August 11, 1999.
The scholarship awards are designed to encourage these students in their pursuit of legal careers and also to inspire them to follow in the footsteps of ground-breaking minority legal professionals such as Mr. Tucker and Mr. Hill.
During the banquet, students and guests heard from Elaine R. Jones, the President and Director for the Counsel Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. She spoke about her extensive experience in the legal field and the importance of education.
Ms. Thompson commented, “Since the presentation, my passion for helping children in the Juvenile system has grown, but I also hope to take time to understand education law, and one day influence education policy.”
“We are very proud of Ms. Thompson and expect her to accomplish great things through the field of law,” stated Mathew D. Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law.
Ms. Thompson is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Liberty University School of Law was founded by Chancellor Dr. Jerry Falwell. It offers a three-year juris doctorate program and is committed to academic and professional excellence in the context of the Christian intellectual tradition.