Noteworthy
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Photograph by Michael J. Clarke
spring 2024
The SUBAN leadership committee with President Marisa Kelly (sixth from left) and Trustees Tamela Bailey and Ernst Guerrier (fourth and fifth from left).
Suffolk University Law School Professor Elbert Robertson’s pride was evident as he took the stage before an enthusiastic crowd at the University’s Sixth Annual Celebration of Black Excellence—including dozens of successful attorneys, government officials, and judges Robertson had taught and personally mentored over his 28-year-long teaching career.
“Keep on going. Keep on being excellent, and keep on doing what you do,” Robertson told the cheering attendees after being presented with the outstanding faculty award. The culture of Black excellence at Suffolk, he said, is fostered by a commitment to being “the kind of institution Gleason Archer believed in,” by staying true to the principle that anyone, “regardless of social class, race, or religion, should be able to study the law.”
Sponsored by the Suffolk University Black Alumni Network (SUBAN) and the Office of Advancement, the March 22 dinner and awards ceremony recognized the achievements of alumni, faculty, and students, and raised funds for the SUBAN Scholarship Fund, with generous event sponsors including platinum donor Healthpeak.
Outstanding Student Awards were presented to Selvin Backert, College of Arts & Sciences, Prince Iheonunekwu, Sawyer Business School, and Samantha Smart of Suffolk Law.
Honored with Outstanding Alumni Awards were Jennifer Barthelemy-Nerestant, MPA ’21, secretariat director of diversity, equity, inclusion & access, Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services; Tamika Correia Jacques, BS ’97, author of A Brown Girls Guide to Employment and Networking and A Brown Parents Guide: Preparing Our Children for Employment In the 21st Century; and Widmine “Lola” Remy, JD ’09, director of pro bono programs for the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts.
Barthelemy-Nerestant cited her family, immigrants from Haiti, as important to her success. “Seeing my parents, my grandparents, my aunts, and my uncles maneuver through a very different world than what they grew up in in order to seek out a better life for the generations that would come after them is nothing short of inspiring,” she said. “Remember, your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth. Continue to see your worth and your power from your own eyes. Don’t let anyone dictate what is possible for you. We stand here as proof of Black excellence, and no one can tell us otherwise.”
Suffolk University Law School Professor Elbert Robertson’s pride was evident as he took the stage before an enthusiastic crowd at the University’s Sixth Annual Celebration of Black Excellence—including dozens of successful attorneys, government officials, and judges Robertson had taught and personally mentored over his 28-year-long teaching career. “Keep on going.
Keep on being excellent, and keep on doing what you do,” Robertson told the cheering attendees after being presented with the outstanding faculty award. The culture of Black excellence at Suffolk, he said, is fostered by a commitment to being “the kind of institution Gleason Archer believed in,” by staying true to the principle that anyone, “regardless of social class, race, or religion, should be able to study the law.”
Sponsored by the Suffolk University Black Alumni Network (SUBAN) and the Office of Advancement, the March 22 dinner and awards ceremony recognized the achievements of alumni, faculty, and students, and raised funds for the SUBAN Scholarship Fund.
Outstanding Student Awards were presented to Selvin Backert, College of Arts & Sciences, Prince Iheonunekwu, Sawyer Business School, and Samantha Smart of Suffolk Law.
Honored with Outstanding Alumni Awards were Jennifer Barthelemy-Nerestant, MPA ’21, secretariat director of diversity, equity, inclusion & access, Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services; Tamika Correia Jacques, BS ’97, author of A Brown Girls Guide to Employment and Networking and A Brown Parents Guide: Preparing Our Children for Employment In the 21st Century; and Widmine “Lola” Remy, JD ’09, director of pro bono programs for the Women’s Bar Foundation of Massachusetts.
Barthelemy-Nerestant cited her family, immigrants from Haiti, as important to her success. “Seeing my parents, my grandparents, my aunts, and my uncles maneuver through a very different world than what they grew up in in order to seek out a better life for the generations that would come after them is nothing short of inspiring,” she said. “Remember, your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth. Continue to see your worth and your power from your own eyes. Don’t let anyone dictate what is possible for you. We stand here as proof of Black excellence, and no one can tell us otherwise.”
Photograph by Michael J. Clarke
The SUBAN leadership committee with President Marisa Kelly (sixth from left) and Trustees Tamela Bailey and Ernst Guerrier (fourth and fifth from left).
By Erica Noonan
By Erica Noonan