Yesterday, September 17, 2019, the Milwaukee Association for Women Lawyers (AWL) Foundation honored two Marquette University Law School students with scholarships.

Jana Budet, 2L, received the AWL Foundation scholarship. The AWL Foundation Scholarship is awarded to a woman who has exhibited service to others, diversity, compelling financial need, academic achievement, unique life experiences (such as overcoming obstacles to attend or continue law school), and advancement of women in the profession.

Budet was on active duty in the Army for six years and earned her bachelor’s degree while she served. She balances her law school work with parenting her four daughters, ages 6, 5, 2, and 1. When Budet started law school last year, she became active in pro bono work, volunteering for more than 50 hours her 1L year. That commitment to service allowed her to be inducted into the Law School’s Pro Bono Honor Society last April. Budet said that it’s important to her to volunteer “because I am setting an example for my daughters every day and that includes showing them the importance of giving back when you are able to.” In addition, Budet said, her success in law school shows her daughters that “hard work pays off,” and that anything can be achieved “no how different your path.”

Bridget Smith, 2L, received the AWL Foundation’s Virginia A. Pomeroy scholarship. This scholarship honors the late Virginia A. Pomeroy, a former deputy state public defender and a past president of AWL. In addition to meeting the same criteria as for the AWL Foundation scholarship, the winner of this scholarship must also exhibit what the AWL Foundation calls “a special emphasis, through experience, employment, class work or clinical programs” in one of several particular areas: appellate practice, civil rights law, public interest law, public policy, public service, or service to the vulnerable or disadvantaged.

After graduating Marquette University in 2011 with an undergraduate degree in finance and human resources, Smith worked in human resources and performed service for others. As a volunteer and mentor at The Dewey Center, Smith helped individuals struggling with alcoholism, addiction, and mental health issues. That volunteer opportunity led to another volunteer opportunity with Milwaukee County’s Drug Treatment Court, which is what prompted Smith to apply to Marquette University Law School. Smith continues her volunteer work and sees it as an integral part of her life.  She attributes this to the values instilled in her by Marquette’s Jesuit tradition.

Smith spent this past summer as a legal intern at the ACLU Foundation of Wisconsin. As a member of the Marquette Law Review and the board of the Labor and Employment Law Society, Smith hopes to use her background in human resources to embark on a career in labor and employment law. Smith is also an avid Marquette basketball fan.

Congratulations to both women for outstanding service and for their representation of Marquette University Law School.