Law Firm Announces College Scholarship for Disruptors

At a moment when Harvard is moving beyond the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), when many of us who have reached a certain distance from our own law school days cannot help but note that the high achievers on their paths to J.D.s have not necessarily reached the same heights in their subsequent professions as some of their lower-scoring colleagues, when those of us who are parents of spirited children might argue, persuasively, that what makes a good person, or an achieving person, is not necessarily what makes a good student, along comes a law firm that is acknowledging just that: so-called troublemakers can actually become super-achievers.

They just might need a little boost in the right direction. Columbus, Ohio criminal defense law firm Koenig & Long has announced the Troublemaker Scholarship, a $1,500 grant to a high school senior based in or near that city who just might have a blemish in his or her background. Among other things, interested candidates must submit a three-page essay on their trouble-making past and how it has impacted them. Candidates must be accepted into an accredited university within the United States.

“Getting into trouble in high school does not necessarily preclude success in college,” the firm noted in a press release at the time the scholarship was announced.

A second-chance scholarship seems like a great idea to some of us. Who hasn’t made a mistake here or there? And don’t we just know that youthful ‘good’ students are likely to find a way to wherever they want to go, sheerly through their own dogged determination and innate intelligence? It is, perhaps, the ones who are struggling who could indeed benefit immensely from a bit of a boost.

Applications must be submitted by July 17, 2017.

—Lori Tripoli