For Maelah Proctor ’26, that reminder has shaped her path from uncertainty to leadership. Now she has become a voice for others on campus.

Her confidence did not always come naturally. Over time, she came to understand that she holds her leadership roles because her skills, perspective and voice are needed in those spaces.

Throughout her time at ������Ƶ, she has intentionally stepped into spaces where students need to be heard, amplifying voices, advocating for equity, and building community as president of the Black Student Union and as a Student Athletic Council representative for the cheerleading team.

As she reflects on her ������Ƶ journey, she points to the people who shaped her path and the purpose that continues to guide her work.

The power of community

Proctor’s confidence did not grow in isolation but through community.

What began as attendance at a Black Student Union event soon evolved into leadership, first serving as vice president for Black Excellence and now as president.

For Proctor, a political science and policy studies major from Charlotte, North Carolina, belonging is deeply connected to visibility. If you don’t see yourself in the community that you’re supposed to represent, she said, it’s hard to feel a part of that community

That understanding now shapes how she leads, ensuring other Black students can find the same affirmation and space that once grounded her. “BSU made me feel comfortable and gave me the confidence to continue here,” Proctor said. “Because sometimes going to ������Ƶ and not seeing a lot of people who look like you can be very alienating.”

In addition to finding belonging within the Black Student Union, she has also built community as a Leadership Fellow, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and a cheerleader.

“I’ve been able to find community in different spaces on campus, and each one has shaped me in a different way,” Proctor said.

Each role has strengthened her confidence and deepened her understanding of what it means to lead with intention.

Mentorship as momentum

Proctor recalls meeting Simone Royal ’17 G’25, associate director of the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education, at her first BSU brunch.

“I didn’t really know anyone, so I sat with Simone because she was a staff member and it felt less intimidating,” Proctor said.

A simple conversation evolved into mentorship.“She has been someone I could go to with questions, someone who helped me navigate things when I didn’t have all the answers,” Proctor said.

Throughout their relationship, Royal has witnessed Proctor’s growth firsthand.

“She has not only stepped up to be the leader that the organization needs, but she’s learned how to extend her leadership skills to others — how to prepare other students to be the best of themselves as well,” Royal said.

Through Royal’s example, Proctor learned that leadership is not about being the loudest voice in the room, but about ensuring others feel heard.

Refusing to shrink

As Proctor deepened her leadership on campus, she became more aware of navigating hyper-visibility and invisibility.

“Sometimes it feels like you’re the only person in the room that looks different,” she said. “You’re holding a certain perspective that might be an outlier.”

She once tried to soften her presence to avoid stereotypes. Over time, she realized shrinking herself served no one. Proctor has chosen to lean into her voice.

“She is a tireless advocate for the community that she serves,” said Abdul-Malik Harrison ‘21, assistant director of the Center for Race, Ethicity and Diversity Education. “When she has a vision, she wants it enacted. She is the epitome of, ‘if you want it bad enough, you can get it done’.”

Rather than simply demanding space, Proctor works to create it.

As Proctor looks ahead to law school and life beyond ������Ƶ, she hopes to continue advocating for equity and expanding access through public service and policy work. Her experiences navigating visibility, representation and leadership on campus have only deepened her desire to pursue law school as a tool for systemic change.

For now, her message remains clear: take up as much space as you want.

“Be unashamed in who you are,” she said. “The second you stop letting other people’s opinions, stereotypes or perceptions limit you is the second you’re free to pursue what you want to pursue.”

Proctor said her time at ������Ƶ serves as proof that when a student chooses to step forward, their voice does more than fill a room — it amplifies others. And that amplification, she said, is what creates lasting change.

Black History Month

As part of Black History Month, ������Ƶ is sharing stories through Today at ������Ƶ that highlight Black students, faculty and staff who actively contribute to a campus environment where cultural histories and identities are celebrated year-round. In February, ������Ƶ is also recognizing the month through a series of events and programming.

A North Carolina native, Gergen was a principled leader, political commentator and advocate for democracy whose influence spanned seven decades.

To ������Ƶ, he brought insightful commentary at public engagements as a frequent keynote speaker and delivering the Commencement address to the Class of 2016. Behind the scenes, he offered guidance and counsel to university leaders charged with carrying out the university’s mission and vision.

“David Gergen served as a steadfast leader with a lifetime of distinguished service rooted in North Carolina,” said ������Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. “At ������Ƶ, he was a mentor, teacher, and thought partner for over 25 years. From chairing the ������Ƶ Law Advisory Board to delivering Commencement addresses that challenged graduates to serve the common good, David modeled public service.

“We are a better university and country because of the light he brought to the world.”

Born in Durham, North Carolina, Gergen earned his undergraduate degree in American Studies at Yale University in 1963 and a Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School in 1967. He also served in the U.S. Navy for three-and-a-half years.

While interning in Gov. Terry Sanford’s office, he became involved in civil rights efforts, a cause he remained dedicated to throughout his life. His national political career began in 1971 as a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon, later serving as director of communications for Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, and as a counselor to President Bill Clinton.

His journalism career included roles as editor and editor-at-large for U.S. News & World Report, and political analyst for CNN and ABC. He also contributed to NPR, CBS, The New York Times, and Newsweek.

“Our country has lost a truly great American,” said President Emeritus Leo Lambert. “David was such a thoughtful and fair and deeply kind person, and those individuals are rare in politics today. He, to me, has always been the model of the kind of person that belongs in public life. He worked to get things done for the betterment of the nation, always valuing our country’s ideals and constitution. It’s very sad, at this moment, to see how very far we have strayed from a standard David Gergen set for civility, leadership, and character.”

During Lambert’s presidency, Gergen became a regular fixture at ������Ƶ, first headlining a Winter Term Symposium in 2001 around the future of presidential politics, then in 2003 interviewing legendary journalist Walter Cronkite before an audience of 2,900 at the Convocation for Honors. In 2004, he became the inaugural Isabella Cannon Visiting Professor for Leadership.

That same year, Lambert approached Gergen with an early vision for ������Ƶ Law.

“David’s help in launching the law school was irreplaceable.,” Lambert reflected. “I remember early conversations with him around the dining room table at Maynard House when the law school was just an idea. As he put it, the nation didn’t need just another law school, it needed ‘a law school with a difference,’ one law seeking to innovate new approaches to legal education.”

Gergen’s far-reaching reputation, along with an advisory board that included two former governors, three former chief justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court, and other legal luminaries added “a sense of legitimacy” to the ������Ƶ Law vision, Lambert said. “������Ƶ was able to leverage that legitimacy to quickly recruit exceptional students who now serve as lawyer leaders in their own communities, a testament to the vision David helped craft for ������Ƶ Law.

“And in true David fashion, with the heart of a public servant, he mentored our law students with wisdom and lessons that will carry through the ages, sometimes drawn from his own personal experiences of adversity and resilience. ������Ƶ owes him a great deal.”

In 2009, delivering the Commencement address to the school’s charter class, Gergen eloquently described his vision for the law school and why he felt compelled to support it. “As one who has been involved in trying to work with the next generation, to prepare a fresh generation of leaders for this country, public leaders, which I think we so much need, that vision had enormous appeal to me,” said Gergen, who was conferred with an honorary doctorate from ������Ƶ at the same ceremony.

Gergen remained instrumental in guiding ������Ƶ Law through its first 20 years, building support for its mission of legal leadership and public service, and establishing it as the preeminent law school for experiential learning and practical skills. Chairing the Advisory Board, Gergen led efforts to establish ������Ƶ Law’s differentiators as the first law school in the nation to offer a 2.5-year J.D. and to guarantee that all ������Ƶ Law students benefit from in a full-time residency-in-practice during their second year of study. Gergen engaged with students in his work with the law school, reminding them of values they should uphold.

������Ƶ Law Dean Zak Kramer marveled at Gergen’s immeasurable influence on the school, its alumni and current students: “We wouldn’t be ������Ƶ Law without David Gergen.

“From the beginning of our law school, David has been a constant source of wisdom and support,” Kramer said. “A model citizen, David lived a life devoted to family, service, leadership and, above all, decency. Our charge at ������Ƶ Law is to produce lawyers who will follow David’s lead to make a difference in our world.”

Gergen remained active and dedicated to ������Ƶ until his death. In 2023, he attended the opening of ������Ƶ’s Charlotte campus and launch of the ������Ƶ Law Flex Program.

In September 2024, ������Ƶ established the David R. Gergen Distinguished Professorship in Public Service, to preserve Gergen’s legacy for generations of future ������Ƶ students and faculty through funding to support work with students who share a passion for public service.

In March 2024, at his last public campus appearance, he and his son, Christopher Gergen, led a conversation around political polarization and the leadership needed to move America forward.

“We need people to hear the call to service,” he said. “We need more heroes. It’s important to have heroes.”

A look back at David Gergen’s influence and service to ������Ƶ and the community:

Gergen’s first speaking engagement at ������Ƶ was in 2001, headlining a Winter Term symposium, “Inaugurating the Millennium: The First 100 Days of the 21st Century Presidency,” held nine days before the inauguration of President George W. Bush.

In April 2003, Gergen interviewed legendary broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite before an audience of 2,900 in Koury Center at ������Ƶ’s Convocation for Honors. In 2004, Gergen was ������Ƶ’s inaugural Isabella Cannon Visiting Professor of Leadership, delivering three public lectures on campus and meeting with classes.

In 2005, he accepted the invitation to chair ������Ƶ Law’s Advisory Board and remained in the role until September 2024. He helped shape the founding faculty and establish the law school’s mission to develop lawyer-leaders who use their skills to improve their communities. He cultivated a lasting partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro. “Leadership will set ������Ƶ apart from other law schools,” he said. Through his leadership and connections, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor delivered the law school’s inaugural address in a ceremony dedicating the law school.

Gergen delivered the first Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Leadership Lecture in September 2007, held at ������Ƶ Law. “The leader’s role is to become a leader of leaders, to make sure they’re leading,” Gergen said. “Your role is to bring the best out of them. More and more people are beginning to understand that leadership is not a top-down kind of ‘do this, do this, do this.’ Leadership today is much more about drawing the best out of people who are in your group.”

In 2009, he delivered the Commencement address to ������Ƶ Law’s inaugural class. “All of you now have shown us your wisdom, your courage, your service to others and your dedication to leadership. You have those qualities deep within you. You have proven that to all of us. What we ask of you now is to remember who you are and remember to give back,” Gergen said.

Participating in a panel discussion for the 2011 Convocation for Honors moderated by NBC’s Brian Williams, Gergen called on ������Ƶ students to be inspired by global movements for freedom and democracy. “You can be the leaders of today … Remember, it takes a long time to get hard work done,” Gergen said. “You’ve got to commit yourself … to make this the work of a lifetime.”

Gergen reunited with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at ������Ƶ Law in 2012 to deliver keynote addresses at the Conference on Law and Leadership, co-hosted by ������Ƶ Law and the Center for Creative Leadership. “We have to believe that the leaders of this country put the country first,” Gergen said. “In so many ways, the people I looked up to were lawyers. For so many of my generation, the majesty of the law is what we believed in.”

Gergen delivered the Commencement address for the Class of 2016, calling on graduates to combat political extremism. “May I plead with you: Please don’t stay on the sidelines as America struggles to find the best path forward. Come off the bench and get into the arena. … Find common ground, work hard to respect the views of others. You will get knocked down and there will be severe disappointments. Embrace the fact that change is hard. But know this: if you pour your heart and soul into rebuilding a better state and nation, you will look back one day and find an inner satisfaction, a pride that you answered the call to service and leadership.”

In September 2024, ������Ƶ President Connie Book and ������Ƶ President Emeritus Leo Lambert hosted a celebration for Gergen, surrounded by his family, and announced the David R. Gergen Distinguished Professorship in Public Service. The professorship will preserve Gergen’s legacy for generations of future ������Ƶ students and faculty through funding to support work with students who share a passion for public service.

The Charlotte Business Journal will honor Colleen Forcina Molner L’13 with its 40 Under 40 Award in recognition of her advocacy and contributions to the community.

A May 8 award ceremony will gather Molner with other distinguished young leaders making a difference in Charlotte and the region. The program will be from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Westin Charlotte hotel. .

The “rising stars in their respective career fields and emerging leaders in the local community,” the news organization said. The journal received more than 150 nominations for this year’s awards.

“It’s such an honor to be among this group. I know some of the honorees, and I’ve admired and been inspired by them,” Molner said. “Growing up in Charlotte and now raising a family here makes this even more meaningful. I want to be a model for my daughters, so that they know that they can achieve anything they want to.”

Molner earned her juris doctor from ������Ƶ School of Law and holds a bachelor of arts in communication from North Carolina State University. She is a partner at Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm and is one of a limited number of attorneys certified by the North Carolina State Bar as a specialist in immigration law. Molner specializes in employment-based immigration, representing employers and employees in work visas and green cards, with a focus on healthcare, assisting hospitals, healthcare systems and agencies in securing immigration solutions for professionals.

She is an active member of the Mecklenburg Bar Association and is dedicated to working pro-bono cases, particularly those involving foreign nationals serving in the military and victims of domestic violence. She has recently represented Afghan nationals who served at the U.S. Embassy and was inducted into the North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society.

Molner says ������Ƶ Law provided a foundation in practical skills that allowed her to adjust quickly to the professional demands of lawyering. She interned with the Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm as a student.

“As a lawyer, you have a professional responsibility to the community and you are in a position to help folks who might otherwise not get the help they need,” Molner said.

Joines’s record of advocacy and service to those around her dates to high school where she led a community service club that established a clothing closet for classmates in need. In college at Clemson University, she mentored freshmen as a resident assistant, and she spent years on a marine conservation research team that taught children about protecting their environment.

It was natural for the South Carolina native to find service and leadership opportunities at ������Ƶ Law as co-director of the ������Ƶ Law Mentors and editor-in-chief of the ������Ƶ Law Review, among other activities.

So if you’re looking for an advocate, a leader, or simply a friend in whom to confide, you’ll be pressed to find someone as accessible as Joines, a new graduate of ������Ƶ School of Law and recipient of its David Gergen Award for Leadership & Professionalism bestowed at Commencement for the Class of 2024.

“I had no idea!” Joines said of the award announcement on Dec. 13, 2024. “I had my own thoughts as to who might receive it. There are several students in my class who are more than deserving of the award. I heard ‘������Ƶ Law Review’ and thought, ‘huh, maybe it’s me?’ Then I heard ‘editor-in-chief.’

“I made eye contact with Dean Zak Kramer, who started to grin, and I realized people had been sneaky!”

In announcing the selection, Assistant Professor Rosa Newman-Ruffin described Joines as “a kind and empathetic listener” who “treats everyone with kindness and respect” and carries herself with “professionalism and humility.”

������Ƶ Law students are nominated for the award by their peers, professors, or staff. Honorees are chosen by a faculty and staff committee based on law school activities that represent the twin principles of leadership and professionalism.

The award is named in honor of David Gergen, a former adviser to four United States presidents and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership and at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen served as one of the country’s preeminent political commentators and recently concluded his tenure as the inaugural chair of ������Ƶ Law’s Board of Advisors.

“Her many nominators see her as a model for once and future lawyers,” Newman-Ruffin said. “As one put it, ‘She is the exact type of lawyer people should seek, and I hope to be as amazing as she is.’”

“Her many nominators see her as a model for once and future lawyers. As one put it, ‘She is the exact type of lawyer people should seek, and I hope to be as amazing as she is.’”

– Assistant Professor Rosa Newman-Ruffin

In addition to her involvement with the ������Ƶ Law Review and the ������Ƶ Law Mentors program, Joines served on the Moot Court Board and as a teaching assistant in Torts. Award nominators had taken note. Excerpts from multiple nominations include:

• “Ashley cares about other people. She is constantly praising and giving credit . . . to other students for their achievements. She likes to direct attention to and celebrate her colleagues.”
• She is “the kind of person who will drop everything to help someone else. She is constantly building others up through words of affirmation, providing resources, or making networking connections.”
• “She always puts others first and does everything in her power to help all those around her.”
• “If ������Ƶ were a person, it would be Ashley Joines.”

While Joines sits for the North Carolina Bar Exam in February, she has already started work as a judicial law clerk for , a jurist for whom she has twice interned since March 2024.

Her professional experiences as a law student don’t end there. Joines also completed:

• A residency-in-practice the Hon. Joi Elizabeth Peake of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
• A summer associate position with the Atlanta-based law firm of which has offices across the United States
• A summer law clerk opportunity with the

What does leadership mean to Joines, a fan of true-crime TV, historical fiction and dystopian novels, and Clemson Tigers football? It’s how you show others they can succeed. It’s how you teach others not to self-eliminate themselves from opportunities they may wish to pursue. It’s also how you model those same practices to everyone around you.

And mentoring is key to leadership, she adds.

“While I want to pursue a career in litigation, I hope to continue mentoring students,” Joines said. “There is something very beneficial when alumni and working professionals mentor law students. I also wouldn’t be surprised if I end up teaching one day, should I have the opportunity — being a professor, in my opinion, would be a great way for me to combine my interests in mentoring students and legal scholarship.”

About ������Ƶ School of Law

������Ƶ Law is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement for all full-time students during the winter or spring of their second year. The law school’s distinctive full-time curriculum in Greensboro offers a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their careers.

������Ƶ Law has graduated more than 1,700 alumni since opening its doors in 2006. Its annual enrollment now tops 470 students and the law school is regularly featured in PreLaw Magazine’s “Best Schools for Practical Training” rankings, reaching No. 4 in the nation in 2024. ������Ƶ Law was also among those schools highlighted in 2023 by Bloomberg Law for its innovative approach to student development.

The ������Ƶ Law Flex Program, an in-person, part-time law program for working professionals launched in Fall 2024 in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood.

• Adviser to four presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton)
• Founding director of the
• Political analyst for CNN
• Chief editor of U.S. News & World Report
• Bestselling author
• Native North Carolinian with a deep love for his home state

Gergen has also been a loyal friend and unwavering advocate for ������Ƶ.

Since his earliest visit to campus a quarter century ago, Gergen has delivered two Commencement addresses, served as the first Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership and inaugural chair of the ������Ƶ School of Law Board of Advisors, and contributed his voice to countless programs that have promoted leadership, service, and civility in public life.

“David is certainly one of our nation’s most steadfast and principled leaders over his lifetime of distinguished service,” said ������Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. “Beyond what David has done for our country, here at ������Ƶ, we owe him a very special debt of gratitude. What began as a speaking engagement at ������Ƶ, way back in 2000, led to a relationship that has had such a profound impact on our university.”

Book’s remarks were part of a Sept. 12, 2024, celebration that coincided with Gergen’s final campus visit as chair of the ������Ƶ School of Law advisory board.

With dozens of board colleagues, university administrators, law students and graduates, and family by his side, an evening banquet at The Inn at ������Ƶ included the announcement of a professorship that will preserve Gergen’s campus legacy for generations of future ������Ƶ students and faculty.

Recipients of the newly established David R. Gergen Distinguished Professorship in Public Service will receive a salary supplement and a fund to support their work working with students who share a passion for public service.

“This professorship ensures your inspired legacy will carry forward here at ������Ƶ,” Book said when announcing the new professorship on behalf of the ������Ƶ Board of Trustees. “Thank you for your unmatched service. Thank you for your vision for ������Ƶ Law. This is indeed a law school with a difference and we are proud to say that difference is due in large part to the leadership of David Gergen.”

Throughout Gergen’s two decades chairing the advisory board, ������Ƶ Law has:

• Adopted a seven-trimester, 2.5-year curriculum that graduates students a half year earlier than traditional law school calendars
• Launched the part-time ������Ƶ Law Flex Program in Charlotte for working professionals
• Received accolades from the American Bar Association for excellence in legal professionalism education
• Climbed to #4 in the nation in PreLaw Magazine’s annual rankings for practical training

������Ƶ Law’s top award for one member of each graduating class also bears his name. The David Gergen Award for Leadership & Professionalism has been bestowed since 2009 on law graduates whose activities represent the twin principles of leadership and professionalism.

Gergen, in brief remarks following the announcement of the professorship, emphasized the importance of public service. He expressed hope in younger generations who will soon assume mantles of leadership.

“Building the community. Having a sense of purpose. Learning to work with each other. Learning to let the other guy take credit. There are so many things that need to be done to make an effective leader,” he said. “We do need heroes.”

The evening celebration included reflections from President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert. It was Lambert and ������Ƶ Trustee Bobby Long who approached Gergen two decades ago with their idea to establish the ������Ƶ School of Law.

“David Gergen is the embodiment of what the public is craving in civic leadership today,” Lambert said. “There are a lot of smart people with prestigious degrees in public life today who are missing some of the essential characteristics of great leaders that David Gergen possesses in abundance.

“He is kind. He is optimistic. He is principled and lives out the American ideals of justice and equality. He is a good listener and brings in the opinions of others. He is fair and diplomatic. He has a wonderful sense of humor. I have never seen him resort to name calling, rudeness, or ugly behavior. He models humility.

“In sum, David is the kind of person you can point to and tell your children and grandchildren, ‘Be a leader like David Gergen.’”

������Ƶ Law Advisory Board Leadership Updates

, a retired trial attorney from Womble Bond Dickinson in Winston-Salem, succeeded David Gergen as chair of the ������Ƶ Board of Advisors beginning with the board’s fall meeting on September 13, 2024.

Gregg’s distinguished career included successful litigation of cases at all levels of state and federal courts including class actions, and medical malpractice, wrongful death, civil rights and complex product liability claims. At Womble Bond Dickinson, she held numerous leadership roles and was active in the Winston-Salem community through the United Way, Habitat for Humanity and the American Heart Association.

The Board of Advisors also celebrated two longtime members who concluded their service at the end of the board’s fall meeting on ������Ƶ’s main campus.

and , were honored for their longtime service and contributions to the growth of ������Ƶ School of Law.

Exum was among the charter members of the Board of Advisors when the first students enrolled at ������Ƶ Law in 2006. Lancaster had served on the board since 2013.

It took only seconds for Courtney Latourrette L’24, a Leadership Fellow and admissions ambassador at ������Ƶ School of Law, to realize she’d been tricked.

The oversized check with her name on it was the first clue. The second clue: Applause and cheers from ������Ƶ Law leaders who quickly surrounded her as she walked into the school’s administrative suite thinking that she was about to lead an admissions tour.

That’s what admissions office supervisors told her she’d be doing on the afternoon of April 17, 2024. Instead of a tour, Latourrette discovered in a surprise presentation that tuition for her final trimester at ������Ƶ Law will be fully covered up to $25,000 with a

AccessLex Institute is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for expanded access and affordability to law school. Its MAX by AccessLex® is offered at 188 law schools and has been used by more than 80,000 students since inception.

“Our MAX program helps law students learn about finances along their journey through law school,” said Morgan Cutright, regional director for the Midsouth in the . “A lot of times, one thing that’s missing in legal education is the financial component. This is our way of giving back and incentivizing students to engage with MAX content.”

AccessLex holds scholarship drawings several times per year with nine random grand prize winners each April – six who receive up to $25,000 and three who receive up to $40,000. This spring marked the second time in as many years that an ������Ƶ Law student’s name was drawn. AccessLex surprised Daphne Myers L’23 with news of her award during a virtual meeting in April 2022.

A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Latourrette currently serves as co-director of the ������Ƶ Law Pro Bono Board and president of ������Ƶ Law’s chapter of the Innocence Project. She also works as a student representative for AccessLex.

“I feel so grateful and am so excited. I love AccessLex,” she said. “I’m pretty sure this is a dream – I’m still waiting for Ashton Kutcher to pop out!”

Moore, who died in 2017, earned widespread respect for his valiant displays of courage during the Vietnam War and would later be depicted by Mel Gibson in the film “We Were Soldiers.” He was revered for his philosophy of never leaving a soldier behind on the battlefield and his determination to “never give up.”

And Schultz? The commitment to his product and a dedication to his employees is what most impresses La Russa, who’s looked to create a similar culture in every clubhouse he’s led throughout an exemplary coaching career.

“If there’s one thing that anybody is interested in taking from my experiences, it’s the value of relationships and the fact that you have to create them and develop them,” La Russa shared with his audience on April 10, 2024, during an ������Ƶ School of Law Distinguished Leadership Lecture. “It’s not enough to be smart.”

“I can’t tell you how hard we worked at building relationships,” said La Russa, who listed respect, trust, and an authentic desire to care about players as foundational to relationships. “It’s a tough way to lead because you do it every day. Every day you consider what’s happened with your guys.”

With equal parts wit and wisdom, La Russa enlightened hundreds of audience members inside the with stories from an exemplary career that included three World Series championships, four manager of the year awards, and countless players named to all-star teams and the baseball Hall of Fame.

La Russa’s baseball Hall of Fame accomplishments also include:

• Second all-time in career regular season (2,884) and postseason (70) wins
• Six league championships and 15 postseason appearances
• A 4-2 record in All-Star games
• Second manager to win a World Series in each league and win three consecutive division titles in each league
•  First manager to win multiple pennants in both leagues

La Russa’s professional baseball career started in 1963 with the Kansas City A’s when he became Major League Baseball’s first 18-year-old shortstop to start a game. His remaining 15 years as a player, often interrupted by injuries, were spent at the minor league level with occasional major league stops.

Encouraged by a mother who valued reading and education, La Russa worked on his college degree during the off seasons, and he later enrolled at Florida State University for law school where he took classes over the winter before returning to baseball every spring. He passed the Florida bar exam but opted to continue a budding managerial career where attributes of law school led to coaching success.

“I felt as time went on that those law school introductions to pressure, competition, detail and preparation became a foundation of our philosophy,” La Russa told program moderator

On August 4, 1979, at only 34 years old, La Russa was promoted from a managerial role in the minor leagues to manage the Chicago White Sox. It was the start of a remarkable run that included leadership roles with the Oakland A’s and the St. Louis Cardinals that ended in 2011 following his third World Series Championship.

Post-retirement, La Russa accepted special assignments for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (2012-2014) and front office responsibilities with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2014-2017), the Boston Red Sox (2018-2019), and the Los Angeles Angels (2020). He returned to manage the Chicago White Sox in 2021, and by leading Chicago that year to a Central Division championship, he became the first person to ever manage a team into postseason play in five separate decades.

Outside of baseball, La Russa and his family support charitable causes and communities, often promoting educational initiatives for children, and providing homes for animals at risk of being destroyed. La Russa has recently concentrated on assisting military veterans by matching them with emotional support and service dogs and providing medical care for the life of the companion animal.

Earlier in the day, La Russa met with ������Ƶ Law students for a roundtable classroom conversation where he answered questions about his law school experiences and more. He also autographed books, posed for photos, and offered encouragement in their continued pursuit of excellence.

About ������Ƶ Law’s Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series

The Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation is an integral part of ������Ƶ Law’s commitment to learning, lawyering and leadership. Endowed through a generous gift from The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation of Greensboro, N.C., the series brings accomplished leaders from a variety of disciplines to ������Ƶ to share their experiences and perspectives with students and faculty.

About the ������Ƶ Speaker Series

The ������Ƶ Speaker Series welcomes distinguished thought leaders and change-makers who are actively taking on society’s most pressing issues. Their bold ideas inspire our own intellectual curiosity and challenge us to make a difference in the world. The 2023-2024 Speaker Series, presented by WUNC North Carolina Public Radio, thematically explores “Creating Together.”

The Hon. Cheri Beasley, who in 2019 became the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, will teach courses on appellate practice over the next year while delivering a public lecture and contributing to professional development opportunities for students and faculty alike.

“Chief Justice Beasley’s state and national leadership as a judge and her commitment to civic engagement make her an ideal professor for ������Ƶ Law students,” said ������Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. “Like the law students, I also look forward to learning from her deep knowledge of the law and judicial process during future campus conversations.”

A year after her 2005 retirement form the bench, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor presided over the dedication of ������Ƶ’s new School of Law when the school opened its doors to its charter class. A lecture in her name was instituted at ������Ƶ in 2007, with Professor A.E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia delivering the first and second Sandra Day O’Connor Lectures at ������Ƶ in Fall 2007 and Fall 2008.

During this period, ������Ƶ School of Law Advisory Board members Bobby Long, also an ������Ƶ trustee, and the Hon. Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, former U.S. Ambassador to Finland and the first female Red Cross chairperson, joined forces to endow the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Professorship at ������Ƶ Law.

The endowed professorship brings to ������Ƶ Law distinguished legal figures whose contributions to society reflect the tenets and values of the first woman confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

“I am honored to be ������Ƶ’s inaugural Justice Sandra Day O’Connor Professor of Law,” Beasley said. “We know what a maverick and trailblazer Justice O’Connor was to this nation. We know how actively engaged she was in the early days of the School of Law and how much she really believed in the ability of ������Ƶ Law to cultivate leaders.

“We also know that she was literally one of a kind as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court and what a model she was for our nation, particularly for women lawyers, in a way that helps all students to believe in their fullest potential.”

Beasley served as a public defender in Cumberland County before she began her judicial career in 1999 as a North Carolina District Court judge. She was elected in 2008 to serve as an associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals and, four years later, was appointed to the Supreme Court of North Carolina, subsequently winning election to the position in 2014.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Beasley to serve as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court following the 2019 resignation of Chief Justice Mark Martin. At the time, Beasley was only the fourth African-American woman in the country’s history to serve as chief justice of any state’s highest court.

Beasley also has served in several leadership roles in the North Carolina Bar Association, as a member of the N.C. Bar Foundation Endowment Committee, and as a member of the American Bar Association Standing Committee for Legal Aid and Indigent Defense.

Beasley holds a Master of Laws in Judicial Studies from Duke University, a J.D. from The University of Tennessee College of Law, and a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College of Rutgers University.

She holds honorary doctorates from Fayetteville State University and North Carolina Central University, and she is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from both The University of Tennessee Knoxville and Rutgers University.

Beasley has been inducted into The Douglass Society, the highest honor bestowed by Douglass College of Rutgers University, and is the recipient of multiple other awards and honors including the Fayetteville State University Chancellor’s Medallion, the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys’ Gwyneth B. Davis Award, and The University of Tennessee Knoxville Trailblazer Award. She is also an inductee into the Rutgers University African-American Alumni Alliance Hall of Fame.

“We are so lucky to have Chief Justice Beasley join our law school community,” said ������Ƶ Law Dean Zak Kramer. “At every step of her career, Chief Justice Beasley has made service the foundation of her work. I can’t think of a better person to guide our students as they prepare to enter the legal profession.”

North Carolina’s 2022 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate recently concluded service as a Fall 2023 Resident Fellow of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. She has since joined the Raleigh office of as a shareholder in addition to her appointment at ������Ƶ.

“I’m really excited about being a part of the ������Ƶ Law family,” Beasley said. “������Ƶ Law students really have the whole world ahead of them. There are a wealth of opportunities available, and I’m excited about working together on leadership development and watching them succeed.

“This is going to be a fruitful relationship and I look forward to being a part of the community.”

About ������Ƶ School of Law

������Ƶ Law is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement for all full-time students during the winter or spring of their second year. The law school’s distinctive curriculum provides a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their careers.

������Ƶ Law in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, has graduated more than 1,500 alumni since opening its doors in 2006. Its annual enrollment now tops 440 students and the law school is regularly featured in PreLaw Magazine’s “Best Schools for Practical Training” rankings, reaching #5 in the nation in 2023.

The ������Ƶ Law Flex Program, a part-time, in-person program of legal study for working professionals in Charlotte, N.C., will begin in Fall 2024 following programmatic and campus approvals by the American Bar Association and SACSCOC, respectively.

“‘Look at the damage you’re doing!’” Hepler fussed at him one Sunday morning. Nowadays? “He definitely doesn’t litter anymore,” she says with a grin. “He stopped!”

Michael Hardy took note of his young daughter’s advocacy. The two were soon watching presidential debates between George W. Bush and Al Gore as they researched jobs where people “can make a difference.” Her father would be the first person Hepler called when she learned she’d been accepted to law school.

Two decades, three degrees, and four children later, Hepler is now on the cusp of starting a legal career with the Guilford County District Attorney’s office having earned the highest honor bestowed on a member of each graduating class from ������Ƶ School of Law.

Hepler, a first-generation college student born and raised in rural North Carolina, received the David Gergen Award for Leadership & Professionalism at December’s Commencement for ������Ƶ Law’s Class of 2023. In announcing the selection, Associate Dean Wendy Scott described Hepler as “the very model of a modern multitasker” who “has dedicated every moment of her free time to making our community a better place.”

������Ƶ Law students are nominated for the award by their peers, professors, or staff. Honorees are chosen by a faculty and staff committee based on law school activities that represent the twin principles of leadership and professionalism.

The award is named in honor of David Gergen, a former adviser to four United States presidents and founding director of the Center for Public Leadership and at the Harvard Kennedy School. Gergen is one of the country’s preeminent political commentators and has chaired ������Ƶ Law’s Board of Advisors since the law school opened.

Among Hepler’s service activities and achievements at ������Ƶ Law:

• Co-director of the Pro Bono Board
• Co-director of the Parents Attending Law School student group
• Academic Fellow
• Teaching Assistant
• Research Assistant
• ������Ƶ Law Mentor
• Member of the Innocence Project and the Criminal Law Society
• Member of the ������Ƶ Law Academic Environment Group

Classmates who nominated Hepler for the award praised the generosity of her time and the impact she has made on the law school community. Excerpts from nearly a dozen separate nominations include:

• “Sam made my experience at ������Ƶ so meaningful, and I know there are so many people who can say the same.”
• “Through her work with the Pro Bono Board she clearly embodies how a lawyer is here to serve and better the lives of others. She leads her peers by encouraging them through tough times and championing them during good.”
• “She seems to be a face of the school and has made me and many others feel very welcome … to know that she is on our team is comforting.”
• “Anyone would be lucky to have Sam as their attorney, friend, or mentor. Sam exemplifies everything ������Ƶ hopes their students will be and more.”

Hepler’s academic adviser, Professor Tom Molony, praised her for the values she embraces and the personality she brought to the classroom. Molony volunteered for a May 2022 “Pie Your Professor” fundraiser for ������Ƶ Law’s Pro Bono Board because of Hepler’s persistence.

“Sam is a really dedicated person and really driven to help people,” Molony said. “She’s a real joy to have in class, and she’s committed to service and to her family. To juggle all the things she had going on is remarkable, and she’d do it with a smile. I’m proud of Sam. She deserves this award.”

Hepler next sits for the North Carolina Bar Exam in February and begins work afterward as a prosecutor in Greensboro. Over the past year, she completed a residency-in-practice, springtime internship, and paid summer placement with the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office, facilitating plea agreements and taking part in multiple trials where she’d often help secure guilty verdicts.

It made sense this fall to pursue a career opportunity in an office where she’s already established trust with future colleagues.

Of course, for many of those who nominated her for the award, what stood out was Hepler’s ability to balance the demands of coursework with the needs of four children she and her husband are raising. Their youngest was born just weeks before Hepler started law classes.

How’d she do it?

“I will say this until I’m blue in the face: a mother’s mindset is ‘you have to do it, so you just do it,’” Hepler reflects. “There are things you have to get done, that you have to make it happen, so if you want something bad enough, you push yourself until you get what you want.”

It’s a concept that can get lost in the rush reporters sometimes feel to be “first” with a breaking news report.

“Cases can be very intellectually demanding and very wonky at times, to be fair,” Bream shared with hundreds of audience members in a recent visit to Greensboro. “But there’s a reason that these nine people make decisions that affect millions of people. And so my goal is always to make sure that people know what’s happening at the court and how it impacts them.”

Bream, host of FOX News Sunday with Shannon Bream and the network’s chief legal correspondent, visited North Carolina on April 12, 2023, for a moderated conversation with Professor Catherine Ross Dunham as part of ������Ƶ School of Law’s 2022-2023 Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation.

Throughout the hour-long program, Bream informed and entertained her Carolina Theatre audience with observations about the Supreme Court, the role of media in shaping knowledge about the law, and how she finds inspiration from her religious faith.

Dunham structured her conversation around many of the themes in Bream’s bestselling book, “Finding the Bright Side,” a memoir that explains Bream’s views on the law, media, faith, and staying true to personal values and beliefs.

Bream advised her audience to seek information from various news sources, even those “that may not be where your gut initially goes” because there is always something to learn. The televisions in her office have CNN and FOX on display, and she reads different papers every day, from The New York Times to The Federalist.

“It’s good to know what the other side has to say,” Bream said. “If anything, challenging our ideas should make us realize that we’re wrong about something, or to find better ways to defend the ideas that we hold. So I would just encourage you to consume as much as you can across the spectrum.”

The Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series presented by The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation is an integral part of ������Ƶ Law’s commitment to learning, lawyering and leadership. The series brings accomplished leaders from a variety of disciplines to ������Ƶ to share their experiences and perspectives with students and faculty.

Dan Abrams of NewsNation and Sunny Hostin of The View previously visited Greensboro for the first two programs of the academic year.

Bream currently serves as anchor of “FOX News Sunday with Shannon Bream” on the FOX Broadcast Network. She joined FOX News Channel in 2007 as a Washington, D.C- based correspondent covering the Supreme Court of the United States.

In addition to her role as anchor, Bream is the chief legal correspondent for FNC and host of “Livin’ the Bream,” a podcast on FOX News Radio where she shares inspirational stories, personal anecdotes and an insider’s perspective on actions and rulings from the high court.

She is also a founding author for FOX News Books, the publishing imprint of FOX News Media.

Notably, her debut title, “The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today” was the 13th bestselling book in adult nonfiction in 2021, according to Bookscan, and spent 15 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, five of which at No. 1. In March 2022, she published the second book in the franchise, “Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak,” which also rose to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

Bream’s “The Love Stories of the Bible Speak” was released in March 2023 and has also placed on the New York Times bestseller list.

Prior to joining FNC, Bream worked as a weekend anchor for WRC-TV (NBC-4) in Washington, D.C., anchored the evening and late-night news for WBTV (CBS-3) in Charlotte and held writing and reporting positions at WFTS-TV (ABC-28) in Tampa. Bream previously practiced law, specializing in race discrimination and sexual harassment cases. She is an honors graduate of the Florida State University College of Law, and she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Management magna cum laude from Liberty University.

Before her evening appearance, Bream spoke with students in ������Ƶ Law’s Fellowship of Christian Lawyers. She recounted her experience at Florida State, where staying true to her faith required more intentionality.

Up until law school, she said, she was always surrounded by others who shared the same beliefs. It was easy to practice her Christian faith because everyone else was doing likewise.

“Law school was the first time I was with people who didn’t see eye to eye with me on anything, including religion, and that was a good thing!” she told the group. “You can be friends with all those folks and learn from them and have really good, honest conversations, but I found that some of my closest law school friendships were definitely with the other believers, who were also trying to stay true and find their strength while surviving the early years.”

And how does she stay true to her faith as a news host and reporter who might cover stories that deeply affect her?

“Of course, all of us personally have our own opinions, but my job is to make sure that doesn’t bleed into my work,” Bream shared. “Not that I have to abandon my principles, but for folks at home, my responsibility to them is to give them the facts and trust them to digest those facts.

“For years I didn’t hide my faith, but I didn’t make it the number one topic of discussion. Everybody who worked with me or around me would know that about me. I feel like in this heated, difficult environment that we’re called to treat each other with respect. Not to abandon any of our own core principles, but if we see a person on either side of a debate as created in God’s image, that’s a wonderful place to start.”