As the 2024 new year began to set in on January 11th, Santa Clara Law students, faculty, and staff came together to celebrate our outstanding first-generation law students at our Annual First Generation Luncheon! The event was planned by Professors Devin Kinyon, Thiadora Pina, and Sandra Vega from the Office of Academic & Bar Success. The event was sponsored in part by the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI).
Professor Devin Kinyon welcomed the attendees, noting this was the seventh such luncheon organized by Santa Clara Law. Celebrating the faculty, staff, and upper-division students in attendance, Professor Kinyon told the first-gen 1Ls: “This community is here to support you. We’re all here because we want you to succeed. Use us!”
Dean Michael Kaufman then spoke on the priority the Law School places on gratitude, and his own gratitude for our first-generation students and their contribution to Santa Clara’s diversity. Dean Kaufman pointed out how many outstanding leaders were first-generation students, including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Congressman John Lewis, whose pictures are displayed in the Dean’s Office.
Retired California Supreme Court Justice Edward Panelli, himself a former first-generation college and law student at Santa Clara University and Santa Clara Law, recounted how he was born just a few yards away from where the first-gen luncheon took place. Justice Panelli—an active member of the Law School community for over seventy years,—spoke on how proud he is of our first-generation law students. “Your families are very proud too,” he said, recalling the love and support he received from his working-class immigrant parents.
Professor Thiadora Pina then commented on the importance of building a network to advance and succeed in the legal profession. She noted that some first-generation students can be nervous about networking, recounting her own experience and how she came from a big family. “They were the only network I was used to.” Professor Pina urged all students to build relationships with each other and the people at the lunch: “We’re your network.”
