A Boston College Law School scholarship is more than a number. It’s an open door to a path once considered out of reach and to a future shaped by passion and purpose. Two voices from the Law School’s Celebration of Scholarship & Philanthropy in April highlighted the profound impact of giving: a scholar who received that open door, and an alum who chose to build it.
Scholar Haley Cole ’26
From the first moment Haley Cole visited the BC Law campus, she knew it was the place for her. She had a personal tour with a 3L. Members of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) stepped out of class to greet her. Shawn McShay, assistant dean of graduate enrollment management, was excited to shake her hand. “I left campus that day thinking two things,” Cole recalled. “One, this school could provide me the professional growth to become a lawyer, and two, I hope I receive a scholarship.”
Both came true.
Fast-forward to spring 2026, as a 3L and a recipient of the Ruth-Arlene W. Howe Scholarship, Cole is recognized as one of BC Law’s most engaged leaders. She has volunteered with the BLSA, the Public Interest Law Foundation, the Plaintiffs’ Law Association, and the Boston College Law Review.
Her path to BC Law was shaped at an early age by watching and listening to the adults around her. Growing up in a Boston suburb as the daughter of a physician from Trinidad and Tobago who specializes in sickle cell anemia, Cole learned that the disorder is historically underfunded and underresearched. “Seeing my mother advocate for resources for her sickle cell patients instilled in me a strong sense of racial justice,” she said. “It taught me that advocacy, lobbying, and persistence matter.”
“Receiving financial aid allowed me to take on leadership roles and pursue public interest-oriented goals without the weight of financial uncertainty that so often narrows students’ options.”
Scholarship recipient Haley Cole ’26
That passion for making a real difference in the lives of individuals grew over time. The only thing holding her back was the potential cost of a law education. So, when the scholarship came through for her, Cole said it gave her the freedom to fully experience her law school years. “Receiving financial aid allowed me to take on leadership roles and pursue public interest-oriented goals without the weight of financial uncertainty that so often narrows students’ options,” she said. And with the scholarship bearing the name of Professor Howe ’74, she added, “It is more than a generous financial award. It is an affirmation of the importance of leadership, community engagement, and academic dedication in advancing the Black community.”
In May, Haley Cole graduated from BC Law. She is now the lawyer she promised herself she would become: “thoughtful, prepared, and deeply committed to justice, and one who carries forward the values of service and care by defending the disenfranchised, confronting racial injustice, and fighting to protect those who need it most.”
Donor Joanne Caruso ’82, JD’85, P’16, LP’25
Joanne Caruso’s Boston College story began in Chestnut Hill as an undergraduate. After earning her bachelor’s degree from BC’s Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences in 1982, she returned to study at BC Law, where she met her husband, Tom (they’re two litigators who both “hate to lose,” she noted). Her daughters followed in her footsteps, with Christine graduating from BC in 2016 and Carolyn earning her JD from the Law School in 2025.
“BC didn’t just educate me. It shaped me,” Caruso said. “It taught me how to think, how to lead, and, most importantly, how to understand my responsibility to others.” That feeling of responsibility became the seed behind establishing a scholarship fund with her husband.
“One decision, one act of generosity, one moment of courage sends ripples outward in ways we can rarely predict and may never fully see.”
Donor Joanne Caruso ’85
A scholarship can be life-changing for law students, she remarked. “Access matters. Opportunity matters. Scholarships aren’t just financial support—they are signals. They tell students they belong here, that someone believes in them, and that someone is willing to invest in their future.” Additionally, philanthropy isn’t about the transaction of writing a check, Caruso believes. “It’s about recognizing that we are part of something larger than ourselves and using our time, talents, and resources to make things better than we found them.”
Caruso and her colleagues often return to the image of a pebble dropped in a pond. “One decision, one act of generosity, one moment of courage,” she said, “sends ripples outward in ways we can rarely predict and may never fully see.”Standing before a room of alumni, donors, and students at the Celebration of Scholarship & Philanthropy, Caruso asked them to sit with that image and imagine tracing the line from donor to scholarship recipient to practicing lawyer to the clients and communities that lawyer will spend a career defending. “And beyond this room,” she said, “are all the people who are touched by what we do every day. Think about that for a moment and imagine the influence we collectively have.”