Relationship-centered Giving

What exactly is a “Knight for life”?

A fan at a Rivalry game decked out in maroon and gold? Someone who attends every January Series lecture? Maybe. But there are myriad other ways Calvin alumni engage with their alma mater, and Jon Van Gorp ’91 is leading the way with a new endowment for Calvin’s pre-law program.

Van Gorp is the chair of the international law firm Mayer Brown. Since 2014, he has partnered with Calvin’s pre-law program director, Joel Westra, to mentor students interested in pursuing careers in law.

“Pre-law is a co-curricular program,” explains Westra, a specialization students from a variety of majors pursue while earning their bachelor’s degrees. The track pairs students with alumni mentors, offers a semester in Washington, D.C., and includes a biennial two-day trip to visit Mayer Brown’s Chicago office. There, under Van Gorp and Westra’s direction, students connect with lawyers, think about vocational calling, and experience private practice at a large firm.

Over the years, Van Gorp’s partnership with Calvin has grown, inspiring him, along with his wife, Amy, who is also a lawyer, to take the additional step of creating an endowment that will sustain and grow the university’s pre-law offerings.

“The program Professor Westra runs is incredibly important, but when you’re thinking about funding at Calvin, you’re thinking about keeping the lights on, keeping the core curriculum going, and getting professors paid.”

“Pre-law advising is probably a little bit far down on the list, and I wanted to make sure that it didn’t get sacrificed. I’m hoping to encourage other alumni in other fields to try something similar,” Van Gorp says.

Relationship, not funding, is the core value of Van Gorp’s philosophy of stewardship. He says alumni are uniquely positioned to help current students discern meaningful vocations. “Some of the best conversations I’ve had were the ones that ended up with people not going to law school, because they just weren’t that passionate about it. And then there are those really bright spots, where people have pursued law school because they visited Mayer Brown. I’ve kept up with those students, and a few of them have even come to work with me.”

When asked why he chose to give back to Calvin, Van Gorp says, “I learned how to think at Calvin. But mostly I learned that mindset of stewardship and responsibility to take care of something for a period of time that isn’t yours, and to leave it in a better place than when you picked it up.”

Van Gorp hopes creating the endowment, as well as investing his time and expertise, encourages others to “do good and make a difference in the world.”

Alumni interested in contributing to The Jon and Amy Van Gorp Pre-Law Fund can make a gift at calvin.edu/support or contact Melanie Lyons at melanie.lyons@calvin.edu.

Alumni interested in how they can support and mentor students in the pre-law program can contact Joel Westra at joel.westra@ calvin.edu.