BC Law recognized five winners of highly competitive public service fellowships and clinical awards as part of the school’s Commencement Eve Awards Celebration on May 22. The recipients have distinguished themselves with their academic and clinical work, and the recognition will assist them as many embark upon public service careers.
The Public Service Committee selected Samuel Hodgkins-Sumner as the 2025 Drinan Award recipient. The Drinan Award is made possible through generous contributions to The Drinan Family Fund in Support of Public Interest Law over the years. The fund was established in 1998 by anonymous friends of BC Law to honor former law dean and congressional representative Rev. Robert Drinan, SJ, and its goal is to encourage and support BC Law students in pursuing public interest careers. Each year the fund awards $10,000 to a graduating student pursuing a public sector career, and is renewable for a second year for an additional $10,000 if the recipient remains in public interest employment. Hodgkins-Sumner will serve as a Staff Attorney with the Orleans Public Defenders in New Orleans, Louisiana, after graduation.
The Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) Awards are given in recognition of overall excellence in the seminar and field work portions of a clinic or externship course, the ability to engage in effective collaboration, and a student’s or team’s contribution to the clinical community at the law school, legal community, or broader community. The CLEA Outstanding Clinic Team Award this year goes to Deepti Sailappan, who has done notable work in both the Civil Rights Clinic and the Immigration Clinic during her time at BC Law. Among Sailappan’s achievements was her presentation of oral arguments before a Superior Court judge in a recent important milestone for the Civil Rights Clinic’s work on the issue of solitary confinement in Massachusetts.
The CLEA Award for Outstanding Extern was presented to Jack Altman, who has worked with both the US Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Boston and with Judge William G. Young of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
At the event, Alejandro Rodríguez and Tyler White were also named as the recipients of the 2025 Public Service Legal Fellowships. The yearlong, post-graduate positions allow BC Law graduates to work full time at a public interest organization, public defender organization, prosecutor’s office, or government agency. The fellowships are a reflection of the school’s commitment to social and economic justice and its dedication to improving access to legal services for those in need. Rodríguez will be working at the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston’s Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA) in Boston, and White will be working at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI), also in Boston.
A roster of awards for other accomplishments were also presented at the ceremony. A full list of all the Commencement award winners is available in our Commencement 2025 story.