1/8/01--Boston College Law School is pleased to announce that 3L student Amy Vosburg has been chosen to receive this year's Drinan Family Fund Award. Amy will use the award to pursue her commitment to community education on legal rights, direct legal services, and community organizing.

"Amy is an example of the very best that Boston College Law School has to offer," said Associate Dean for Administration Michael Cassidy. "Her ideals and commitment exemplify the Jesuit mission of education for service to others."

Among Amy's many activities is her experience with the BCLS Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project (JRAP), where she represented juvenile girls in delinquency and CHINS proceedings. She was also a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and served as a volunteer teacher and advisor for two years on the island of Ebeye in the Marshall Islands, where she taught English as a second language and provided personal and academic counseling to students. She has worked for the Georgia Justice Project, where she defended indigent clients in misdemeanor and felony criminal cases; the Boston Redevelopment Authority, where she worked on affordable housing issues; Legal Services Center, where she advised tenants and negotiated with landlords in housing court; and Brighton High School, where she helped coordinate student support services.

Amy is also a Candidate for a Masters in Social Work Degree from Boston College. She received her undergraduate degree from Notre Dame.

"I see my law degree as a resource, a tool that can create change both systematically and for one person at a time," Amy writes in a recent essay. "I have witnessed and been a part of the life-changing effect of good legal advocacy for low-income tenants, criminal defendants, the homeless, and juveniles. The importance of legal work lies in its power to create change, and to bring justice to our society. I will strive for that in whatever area I practice."

Named after former Dean and Congressman Rev. Robert Drinan, S.J., The Drinan Family Fund Award provides award recipients $10,000 each year for two years. Its purpose is to provide assistance to recent graduates with loan repayment, so that they may pursue public interest careers. The Fund was established in 1998 by anonymous friends of the Law School.