October 1- Stetson Law part-time student awarded largest individual scholarship in school history
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Gulfport, Fla. – Stetson University College of Law part-time student Darin Richter no longer has to worry about tuition, the cost of books or where how he will support his family after receiving the first Emmitt Wilkes Scholarship, the largest award given to an individual student in the school’s history. Established with a gift from James L. Wilkes II, for the next four years, the award will cover all tuition, fees and books, and will provide an additional $38,000 annually for living expenses.
The scholarship was established through a $175,000 contribution to Stetson from Wilkes, co-founder of the Tampa-based firm of Wilkes & McHugh and a 1983 graduate of the Stetson University College of Law. Wilkes’ gift was matched with 1:2 by the law school, bringing the total scholarship fund to $262,500.
The scholarship is given to a student in the part-time J.D. program at Stetson, with preference given to nontraditional students who are entering law school as a possible career change or who are raising a family. It is designed to support the student throughout the four years of the program.
“I wanted to help a deserving student with life experience to have the financial wherewithal to pursue a legal career,” Wilkes said.
Richter is a program manager for CAE, a flight simulator company in Tampa. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, concentrating in aerospace design. He is a former U.S. Army Captain and Blackhawk helicopter pilot. At CAE, Richter works primarily with the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin in CAE’s C-130 line of products.
“This is obviously a very, very generous gift,” Richter said. “It is indicative of Mr. Wilkes and his firm’s focus; they take care of families. That is exactly what was done in this case.”
Richter and his wife of 10 years, Emma, have four children: Veronica, age 9; Geoffrey, age 7; Isabelle, age 5; and Bernadette, age 2. They acknowledged that going to school part-time while working full-time and raising a family would be a challenge, and recognized the financial relief as a true easing of burden.
“I will not take this scholarship for granted,” Richter said. “I sincerely hope to be in a position at some point in the future to repay this scholarship in like form, thus propagating Mr. Wilkes’ generosity to future generations of law students.”
Post date: Oct. 1, 2004
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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