UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LAW SCHOOL STUDENT, DIANA COMES, ANNOUNCED 2009 JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDEE

Diana M. Comes, J.D. Candidate for 2011 at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis will accept the $5,000 Scholarship Award given in the name of Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The presentation will take place during the National Association of Women Judges' 31st Annual Conference, Justice on the River, Navigating Change at its Thursday, October 15th Keynote Luncheon which will feature Justice O'Connor as Keynote Speaker. The Scholarship was established by the National Association of Women Judges in 2006 to honor the legacy of the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Justice O'Connor's life story and extraordinary professional achievements illustrate three core values: scholarship, leadership, and commitment to public service and equal justice. This scholarship will honor and perpetuate Justice O'Connor's legacy by annually recognizing the achievements and commitment of a law student who exemplifies the values that have guided Justice O'Connor throughout her extraordinary career.

A statement submitted by Ms. Comes:

While I am not the first in my farming family to attend college, I am the only one to attend graduate school. My three siblings and I grew up in a loving home, but without much money to spare. Education, I believed, was the key to doing what I loved: thinking, analyzing, and writing. When I chose to attend a private college, my parents wished me well, but I understood that it was my education, and my responsibility to pay for it.

At Rhodes College, I paid for tuition with grants, scholarships, and loans. What those did not cover, I worked for, often two or three jobs at once while taking full course loads: at the library circulation desk and media center, in the technology lab and writing center, and as a resident assistant. On weekends, I babysat. Working tirelessly for my education made me determined not to waste a second of my hard-earned time. I obtained a teaching assistantship, presented papers at College symposia, and undertook a year-long Honors project, which culminated in a 100-page thesis. What I put in was time, dedication, and curiosity; what I got out was discipline, experience, and intellectual satisfaction.

Outside of the classroom, though, I found my passion for working with women in the margins of society. Noticing the dearth of on-campus resources for sexual assault victims, I co-founded the Rhodes College Women's Center, a network of peer crisis counselors staffing a 24-hour assault hotline. This successful hotline linked victims with solutions. As Director of the Executive Board, I oversaw campus awareness programs, including programs for men to bring them into the dialogue about assault. Work on the Center was challenging and exciting: in responding to a need I perceived in my community, I found my calling. Having struggled myself to rise above my limitations to claim my education, I identified with these women who, too, wrestled with obstacles standing in the way of the lives they had envisioned for themselves.

To the justice system, I bring my talents in service of those who face similar challenges. Though I continue to help myself, for example, by working two jobs my first year of law school while volunteering and taking a full course load, I am indebted to the countless women who have mentored and encouraged me. It is my duty and privilege to give back. In law school, I draw upon my background to improve access to justice for vulnerable peoples by volunteering at Memphis Area Legal Services and the Community Legal Center. I am also lobbying the Tennessee Legislature to adopt the forthcoming Uniform Collaborative Law Act, which would make access to women-dominated legal fields like family law cost-effective and efficient. Finally, I mentor younger women in the Association for Women Attorneys. I cannot ignore need because I know it too well. My greatest dream is to use my legal education to help women, on the broadest scale possible, and when they need it most, to see courage and tenacity within themselves.

Ms. Diana M. Comes is a second year law student at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.