Alumni Weekend began with Ascension III, discussed below, on Friday evening. On Saturday, alumni scholars and current alumni met on the banks of the Potomac River in Georgetown for a morning of kayaking. The occasion was an excellent opportunity for the two groups to get to know each other better. With many alumni, seniors and juniors paired together in two-man boats. Afterward, while current students took advantage of rare free time, the alumni met together to learn about the Institute’s growth plans. Later in the afternoon, scholars and alumni were joined by professors, several internship supervisors and donors for a barbecue on the Georgetown campus. On Sunday morning, many of the scholars and alumni attended a worship service with Mr. Keyes at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, followed by lunch. Most alums departed Washington on Sunday afternoon.
The weekend provided an outstanding opportunity for the current scholars to talk with alumni about their current positions as graduate school students and employees. Institute alumni are now enrolled in the following law schools: Stanford , Cal-Berkeley, Georgetown, George Washington, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio State, South Carolina and Nevada. Others attend graduate school at Yale, Michigan, Chicago, NYU, Arkansas, Albany, Loyola-Chicago and the New School. Some alumni have entered the workforce and found employment at the White House, in TV news, at their alma maters, and in organizations such as the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. Two will begin prestigious public service fellowships in New York in September. One is an officer in the United States Army. Two staff the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.
For the third summer, Institute seniors organized and hosted a networking happy hour for African American interns. The attendees took advantage of the occasion to establish relationships with interns whom they may otherwise not have met. While the scholars and their guests mingled, a photo collage of various Institute events played on television monitors on all three floors of the bar.
Richard Walker, Vice President for Corporate Giving at Friedman Billings Ramsey Group, organized and hosted a briefing at the FBR headquarters in Arlington, Virginia to acquaint Institute scholars with the firm’s business interests. In addition to moderating the briefing, Walker discussed his role in directing the company’s charitable efforts, which are focused particularly in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to supporting charities in Washington, the firm’s largest impact elsewhere is in Phoenix, Arizona, where the firm sponsors the FBR Open on the Professional Golf Association tour.
Frank Walker, no relation to Dick, is Chief Compliance Officer for FBR Investment Management, Inc. (FBRIM), the firm’s registered investment adviser. FBRIM manages a broad spectrum of investment vehicles, including hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds. Walker discussed the role of the compliance officer in protecting the firm and its clients.
Richard Coll, Associate General Counsel, discussed the characteristics that would make one successful in his role. He also discussed the many rewarding career opportunities for lawyers to work in corporate settings. He answered numerous questions from the scholars, such as the firm’s standard for retaining outside counsel.
Roderick Dunlap, Vice President of Sales, discussed his transition from an Engineering major at Georgia Tech to a sales executive for an investment bank. He told the scholars that personal characteristics and aptitude were greater determinants of success in sales or most other fields than major areas of study in college. He told the scholars about his work at FBR and described his typical day.
Robert Dean, Vice President of Risk Management, discussed the need for risk management in an investment bank or any other securities related business. His discussion also combined a description of the technical aspects of his job with career advice for the scholars.
These discussions were followed by a reception at which the scholars had the opportunity to speak more casually with these FBR executives and others.
Each summer, the junior class visits Justice Clarence Thomas at the Supreme Court for an in-depth discussion of the workings of the Court, judicial philosophy, and as many other issues as the scholars desire. The senior class meets with one of the other Justices. This summer, that other Justice was the Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr. The seniors began their return visit to the Supreme Court with a private tour of the building. They sat in on a public lecture. And they concluded their visit with a private session with the Chief Justice, who made brief remarks and fielded numerous questions from the scholars. These questions regarded the culture of the Court, the Chief Justice’s administrative duties over the federal judicial system, his role in tiebreaking, and numerous other matters.
Several scholars attended the White House’s annual Black Music Month celebration, where they joined the President in honoring the contributions that African Americans have made to the country through music. The scholars were also in the company of a notable group of invitees, including Secretary Alphonso Jackson; Bob Johnson, founder of BET, and others. The list of musicians who performed included Karina Pasian, KEM Owens, and Tourie and Damien Escobar.
A collection of accomplished writers began tonight a series of workshops for the Institute’s seniors and a select group of students interning this summer at the Heritage Foundation. Tonight’s session was the first of four, which will cover such areas as press releases, issue briefs, op-ed columns, book reviews and writing for scholarly journals.
Near the end of a long week of internships and classes, the scholars visited the Verizon Center to meet the owner of the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and watch the team take on the Los Angeles Sparks. Dr. Sheila C. Johnson hosted the students in her personal suite at the arena. She engaged the scholars in a stimulating discussion about issues ranging from business ventures to personal integrity to the current offerings of Black Entertainment Television (BET), which she co-founded with her ex-husband in 1980. She also discussed service to others. The scholars were aware of the fact that she had given away millions to charity since the sale of BET to Viacom for 3 billion dollars in 2000. In addition to her own foundation, she has created the Washington Mystics Foundation. After the discussion, Johnson escorted the scholars to the courtside seats she provided for them to enjoy the game.
For the fifth straight year, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas carved out time from the closing days of the Supreme Courts’ session to meet with the Institute’s junior class. This summer’s meeting was held in the Lawyer’s Lounge, where he met with the inaugural class in 2003. As always, the Justice greeted each scholar warmly and told them about experiences in their home towns, visits to their campuses, or other things he had in common with them. Once everyone was seated, he started the discussion by telling them what a wonderful opportunity they had been afforded by being selected for the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. He reminded them that they had been selected because of their hard work, and that they would continue to have opportunities presented to them if they continue to work hard.
Thomas spent a considerable time talking about his childhood in Georgia and the individuals who sacrificed for him to have opportunities to get a good education, his early desire to return one day and practice law in Georgia, and the twists and turns in his career that led him to Washington and ultimately to the Supreme Court. He discussed his work on the Court and the judicial philosophy that guided his opinions on several high-profile cases that the scholars were interested in. Always generous with his time, the Justice answered at least one question from all of the scholars. He posed for pictures afterward and continued to chat individually with the young men for an extended period of time.
Tonight, the law firm of Foley & Lardner hosted the Institute scholars who are interested in legal careers for the first of three dinners and educational sessions at their office at the Washington Harbor. The scholars were welcomed by partner James N. Bierman, who shepherded the relationship between Foley and the Institute and took on the role of host and moderator of this first session. Bierman was a wonderful partner for the scholars to meet. He has served as managing partner, head of recruiting for the firm, and previously an admissions director at Harvard Law School.
In this first session, attorneys Norm Rich and Ric Henschel discussed trademark and patent law, which are similar but distinct practices. Next week, Irwin Raiji will discuss legal work in both the public and private sectors. Foley is the law firm for Major League Baseball; Raiji represents the Washington Nationals and has helped them with the negotiations with the District of Columbia regarding the construction of a new stadium, which is to open next season. In the third session, attorneys Sharie Brown, Paul Monsees and Steven Lambert will discuss the Patriot Act, environmental law, and arbitration/mediation. They, along with Bierman, will expose the scholars to the many areas of law.
In addition to its involvement with the scholars, Foley is a financial contributor to the Institute.
By 7:30 this morning, the Institute’s scholars were heading to the Georgetown campus buses for the first leg of their commutes to their internships. The scholars were all dressed in suits and ties and were ready to work hard. Each of them was heading to an internship that had been carefully selected to suit their interests and career objectives. These internships included some offices where scholars have interned in past summers. These include the American Legislative Exchange Council, FBR, NBC News, the United States Senate, and the Washington Legal Foundation. New internships include the Brookings Institution, Georgetown University Law Center, Merrill Lynch and TV One.
After completing the extensive applications, submitting to interviews by Institute alumni and staff, exchanging numerous email messages, having conversations with returning scholars, checking into the dormitories, and enjoying dinner and a welcoming event as a group, the scholars arrived at Orientation dressed in suits and ties and ready for the Institute to officially begin. William Keyes, founder and president of the Institute, addressed the scholars for approximately one hour about the Institute’s mission and history. He spoke most passionately about the high expectations that he and everyone else associated with the Institute have for the young men assembled at that moment. He said on several occasions that talent was an important factor in their selection, but that character was even more important. He illustrated his points with anecdotes from his own life and from experiences of past scholars.
Keyes also formally introduced the Institute staff. Two of the three staff members are Institute alumni. And he introduced the three Summer Fellows, alumni who live on campus with the scholars and work in the office with Keyes during the day. He informed the scholars that the Summer Fellows are their first and most important contact people. After the Summer Fellows addressed the scholars, Keyes invited the senior class to the front of the room to tell the juniors about their prior summer and give them words of advice. Then he asked the junior class to introduce themselves and tell why they chose to attend the Institute. He was visibly moved to hear several of the juniors say that they gravitated toward the Institute because of its focus on character. Other juniors mentioned the rare opportunity to spend an extended period of time building relationships with other high-achieving African American men.
Finally, the scholars heard from Professor William Allen, who told the juniors what they could expect from his Government class, which would begin at 7 p.m.
Following the formal session, the students walked across the Georgetown University campus to have lunch at the Faculty Club, where they were seated at two long window tables that afforded a beautiful view of the newest part of the campus. The scholars were treated to an elaborate buffet and had the opportunity to display the Institute etiquette that Keyes taught.
After lunch, the scholars spent the afternoon taking photos for their Georgetown identification cards and buying books for their classes.
From as far away as Sacramento, California and as close as Mitchellville, Maryland, scholars traveled this afternoon to the Georgetown University campus, where they will live for the next eight weeks as participants in the fifth session of the Institute for Responsible Citizenship. Nine scholars returned for the second summer and were joined by 23 juniors. Members of both classes will live together in the four-bed units at the Village A residence hall.
The scholars gathered at 7 p.m. at the ESPN Zone in downtown Washington, where Institute founder and president William Keyes informally welcomed everyone to what promises to be another fantastic summer. The scholars were joined by all of the alumni who live in the Washington area. Many found it fitting that a presidential debate was being shown live on flat screen television sets on the walls of the private dining room where the scholars had dinner. When the scholars finished eating, they engaged in friendly competition on the three floors of games throughout the facility.