UTSA pre-law students on Dallas trip

UTSA Institute for Law and Public Affairs prepares students for success

(Dec. 3, 2004)--Thirty-six students received the Certificate in Legal Reasoning at the annual awards ceremony Nov. 18 of the UTSA Institute for Law and Public Affairs. Students who attended the UTSA Summer Law School Preparation Academy (SLSPA) and completed twelve hours of designated academic coursework earned the certificates.

The keynote speaker at the ceremony, Barbara Hanson Nellermoe, judge of the 45th District Court of Texas, reminded students they were launching into law careers that will be important and exciting, but might not be the same as those portrayed on TV. She and other speakers emphasized the importance of training at the UTSA institute and summer academy.

SLSPA alumni Santiago Alaniz and Barbara Leal, second- and first-year law students, respectively, at UT School of Law, addressed the certificate recipients. Alaniz said, "I would not be doing what I am now without the institute's training. You are very well prepared to succeed in law school as a result of the education in the institute."

Institute director Richard Gambitta presided at the ceremony. Speakers included faculty members Mel Laracey, Diane Abdo and Javier Oliva, and institute administrator Angeles Aboites.

In addition to the certificate awards, senior Juan Pablo Garcia won the Ray Coleman Jr. Outstanding Student Award for his participation in the 2004 Summer Law School Preparation Academy.

The summer academy offers coursework designed to increase the number of students gaining admission to and excelling in law school. The SLSPA emphasizes analytical thinking, critical reading and quality writing. Following the SLSPA, the institute conducts LSAT training for its students.

According to Gambitta, during the summer academy, law school faculty provide seminars and deans of admissions from various law schools visit the program to recruit UTSA students. The institute admits students to the SLSPA on a competitive basis, beginning in their sophomore years.

Last month, the institute sponsored fifty pre-law students to attend the national Law School Admissions Council's law forum in Dallas, where 150 law schools from across the country recruited students and provided information on admission to law school. The institute provided travel, meals and hotel lodging for the students resulting from a grant awarded from the Law School Admissions Council. The law forum provided seminars on topics including enhancing minority admissions and securing financial aid for a legal education.

During the trip, the students toured Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, where the dean of admissions spoke to the group. UTSA alumnus and SLSPA graduate Joseph Echeverria, a first-year student at the SMU Dedman School of Law, spoke to UTSA students about the transition from UTSA and San Antonio to law school in Dallas. Echevarria is attending the SMU Dedman School of Law on scholarship, which he won after earning the UTSA Certificate in Legal Reasoning.

Echeverria told the UTSA students, "I would not trade the training that I received in the Summer Law School Preparation Academy for anything. It made a great difference."