Campaign Priorities: Educating Future Leaders

The campaign's goals include $20 million for student support. Scholarships ensure that the most promising students can attend the law school regardless of need. Public interest loan repayment provides law school loan debt relief for students who pursue public interest careers.

Profile: Alicia Welch ´08

While earning a BA, magna cum laude, in Political Science from American University and working as an intern in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, Alicia Welch ´08 thought her future lay in politics. Now, as she jointly pursues a law degree and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Maryland College Park, she knows differently.

"Since childhood, I've known that I wanted my work to help others. I used to think I could accomplish this through politics," she says. "While politics and policy do converge at certain points, I've discovered that my true passion is not helping to elect people who then make policy, but instead to analyze and — one day — formulate policy."

Welch is also a founder and the current chair of the Maryland Katrina and Indigent Defense Project, which provides opportunities for Maryland law students to travel to Louisiana and Mississippi during school breaks to assist with the ongoing efforts to rebuild these areas, including their legal systems.

Through the generous support of graduates and friends, Welch was named the recipient of a Leadership Scholarship. Awarded to students who have demonstrated a significant record of accomplishment in academics, professional life, and community and public service, these scholarships are vital in helping the law school recruit highly qualified students.