An Interview with Samantha Colpak of the Jewish Law Students Association at New England Law School

February 1, 2011

Samantha Colpak is the President of the Jewish Law Students Association at New England Law School. She recently took some time to answer a few questions about the work of the association and the role it plays in larger law school community.

NVR: Can you tell us a little about the Jewish Law Students Association at the New England Law School in  Boston? What kinds of events and activities do you offer?

The Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) is open to all New England Law/Boston students. It is a social, cultural, and educational group that reflects the interests of the JLSA community. Our group is focused on both social and professional networking. We also have a number of fun events that fall on Jewish holidays. The JLSA Speaker Series brings in multiple attorneys from the Boston area every year to educate New England Law students about various areas of the law, and to network. The JLSA also reaches out to JLSA organizations at the other Boston law schools. Some of our annual events include the Crash my Sukkah Party, the JLSA Speaker Series, Potluck Shabbat Dinners, Passover Seders, and the Annual Purim Fundraiser for Hope and Relief (which raised over $2,000 in February 2010).

NVR: What inspired you to become involved in the association? What are some of the aspects of your position that you find the most interesting? What are some of the challenges the group has faced?

I think it was a culmination of things. My Jewish heritage has always been important to me, however I have never been religious. As I got older I wanted to find a way to be involved in the Jewish Community without having to join a temple. Volunteering for the Jewish National Fund before law school I think is what really got me started. The JLSA was the first group I joined, and the Presidency sort of fell into my lap.

The biggest challenge my committee has faced is that when we got a hold of it, it was completely falling apart. Not only did we have to rebuild it from the ground up, but the committee was mostly made up of first year law students, so we also had to learn as we went.

NVR: What role does the association play in the larger New England Law School community? Do you have connections to Jewish student groups at other law schools in the area?

Every law school has a JLSA. I asked myself last year: “Why aren’t we doing something together?” I got together with Suffolk’s former JLSA President, Tiffany Michael, and we worked very hard to get in touch with the executive boards of all of the Boston law schools. We now have created a solid network with: Suffolk, BC, BU, Harvard and Northeastern. With this network, we advertise each other’s events, and throw events together, such as the annual Purim Fundraiser for Hope and Relief.

NVR: Last year your group held a successful Purim party which helped raise money for a number of worthy causes –can you tell us a little about this event? Will it be happening again this year?

After a lot of hard work, we were able to put together the 1st Annual Purim Fundraiser for Hope and Relief last year at the Greatest Bar on February 18, 2010. It was a HUGE success. We had 200 attendees and raised over $2000 for:

• American Friends of Magen David Adom: Emergency Disaster Fund for Haiti Relief
• Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation
• Jewish National Fund: Parson’s Water Fund
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

With the exception of Northeastern, all of the Boston law schools were involved in this event. Everyone had a great time, and some people went away with some great raffle prizes!

We will certainly be holding the 2nd Annual Purim Fundraiser for Hope and Relief this year. It will be held at the Greatest Bar again, and this year it will be on Saturday, April 2nd. Doors open at 8PM and guests must arrive before 10PM. Purim costumes are welcome, but not required. The 3 charities we will be raising money for will be announced at a later date; however we do know that one of them will be JNF’s “Carmel Renewal: From Black to Green” to help with the forest fire relief.

Not only is every law school including Northeastern involved this year, but JNFuture will also be co-hosting the event with us! I am predicting that we will have at least 300 people and will raise around $3000!

NVR: What is your vision for the future of the association? Are there ways in which you would like to see it grow and change in the next few years?

My hope is that the JLSA continues to grow as it has in the future and gain even more standing not only in our school, but in the Boston community as well. My fear is that the group will dwindle again once our committee has graduated. Since I am an evening student, the program is 4 years instead of 3. My plan to prevent the group from falling apart after I graduate is to step down after next year and hopefully find a first year law student willing to take on the challenge. That way, I will be able to mentor them during my last year.