Spesia & Taylor is a proud sponsor of the Will County Legal Opportunity Scholarship Program. The Scholarship awards a $5,000 per year up to three years for Law School tuition ($15,000 over three years), a $1,000 payment for Bar preparatory course, and up to $10,000 per year for three years after law school in loan reimbursement to the recipient. The Scholarship Program was created by the Will County Bar Association to encourage diversity within the Will County legal community by awarding an incoming first-year Black or Latino law student financial assistance.
“We are proud to have worked in collaboration with the Will County Bar Association, the Black Bar Association, the Latino Bar Association, and the Women’s Bar Association to make this a reality” said Chris Spesia. “We set out to create a scholarship that would make a significant impact on an individual and encourage them to practice law in the great county of Will County. We have succeeded in this goal.”
The recipient was selected by a selection committee of local judges and attorneys including Chris Spesia. The committee selected Adrian Guzman. Adrian graduated from University of St. Francis in Joliet with a 4.0 G.P.A. He volunteered his time at the Will County Courthouse assisting individuals by interpreting legal forms from English to Spanish. He also worked at the Spanish Community Center. He will be attending Northern Illinois University College of Law. Adrian is humbled by the outpouring of support from his community, “I am so proud to see my own community promote diversity in the legal field. Thank you for opening this huge window of opportunity.” Adrian would also like to thank his mom and dad who inspired him to attend law school.
More information regarding the scholarship program can be found at willcountybar.net/scholarship.
Spesia & Taylor and Will County Legal Opportunity Scholarship Recipient Adrian Guzman Featured in Herald News
Rockdale native is 1st recipient of Will County Legal Opportunity Scholarship
The scholarship program encourages diversity within the legal community of Will County
By Denise M. Baran-Unland
A Rockdale resident who dreamed of becoming a lawyer is now one giant step closer to realizing it.
The Will County Bar Association announced at its picnic last Saturday that Adrian Guzman, the son of immigrants from Mexico, was the first recipient of the Will County Legal Opportunity Scholarship, a release from the association said.
Recipients of the scholarship are “eligible to receive up to $46,000 to help repay outstanding legal education debt,” the Will County Bar Association website said. In return, the scholarship recipients will be expected to practice law in Will County.
Scholarship committee members said in a Herald-News story in January that the purpose of the scholarship is to encourage diversity among the legal community in Will County. Guzman agreed the concept is a good one.
“It’s nice to give back to the community you grew up in,” Guzman said.
This scholarship program is a collaboration among the Will County Bar Association, the Black Bar Association of Will County, Latino Bar Association of Will County, Will County Women’s Bar Association and Spesia & Taylor Attorneys at Law. A scholarship committee selected four finalists, the release said.
Read the full article at ShawLocal.com
