Jennifer Hollis ’09, the recipient of the Robert E. Littlefield ’52 Memorial Scholarship, leaves her family behind in Malone, N.Y., every Sunday night to attend Albany Law School.
Daniel Komansky ’82, Foundation president.
Hollis ’09 Balances Study, Family and a 200-mile Commute
New Scholarship to Help Students Focused on Health Care Law
Each Sunday evening, Jennifer Hollis says goodbye to her husband, Al, and 11-year-old daughter, Tori, at their home in Malone, N.Y., and drives nearly 200 miles to her apartment in Albany. She spends the week in class and studying, returning to Malone and her family after her last class each Thursday. “Sometimes my husband and daughter travel here instead, especially close to finals time,” said Hollis. “My daughter loves coming to Albany.” Hollis, who will graduate from Albany Law this year, is the recipient of the Robert E. Littlefield ’52 Memorial Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship that she has received for two consecutive years. She credits the scholarship with allowing her more time to study and spend with her family—and for gaining practical legal experience outside of the classroom. “I was fortunate to be accepted by several law schools, but after much soul searching, Albany Law felt like the best choice for a number of reasons,” said Hollis. “The biggest reason was that I knew with its location in the Capital Region, Albany Law would provide me with the greatest number of opportunities for government internships and agency field placements, as well as other activities that involve the legal profession.” Hollis has completed a health law field placement at the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and two summer internships with the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office. “Last summer, I was able to submit and prevail in my first appeal to the Appellate Division, Third Department,” she said. While she expected to concentrate on disabilities law when she came to law school, her experience over the past two summers has led her to also consider criminal law as a potential career path. –NC
Albany Law School benefits from a new gift given by the Slomo and Cindy Silvian Foundation Scholarship to create a $25,000-endowed scholarship fund. The fund will provide $1,250 annually to a student interested in studying health care law while gaining hands-on client experience at the school’s Health Law Clinic. “We were looking for the right educational mission,” said Daniel Komansky ’82, president of the Slomo and Cindy Silvian Foundation, located in Huntington Station, Long Island. “The kind of work pursued by the Health Law Clinic fits well with our vision of the Foundation; it ensures that the Foundation’s money is put to use in a meaningful, productive way toward a young person’s future, and toward justice.” “Often our students work on cases involving the client’s doctor and their insurance company,” said Professor Joseph Connors, director of the Law Clinic. “These kinds of scholarship gifts make the program stronger.” The Albany Law Clinic and Justice Center’s Health Law Clinic uses a model to collaborate between law students and medical professionals, which helps to resolve legal disputes and improve health outcomes for clients simultaneously. Over the course of three years, a $2,500 scholarship totals $7,500, or a savings of about $50 a month of debt after school. Annualized over the 15-year life of the average student loan, the money spares a student $20,000. The first student will receive the award in the fall 2009 semester.
Spring 2009 Albany Law Magazine
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