Gerard Fischetti (’19) wins Alexander G. Gray Jr. Scholarship from the Mass. LGBTQ Bar Association

Fischetti was recognized for his work building connections between LGBTQIA attorneys and law students and advocating for LGBTQIA perspectives in BU Law’s faculty hiring process.

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Gerard Fischetti (’19) has long been interested in creating connections between LGBTQIA members of the legal community. He has been able to actively cultivate those links as copresident of OutLaw, BU Law’s student group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and allied students which “strives to connect BU Law to the LGBTQ legal community,” and has served student representative on the Faculty Appointments Committee and the Dean Search Committee.

With the support of Adam Harmon of the BU Law Career Development & Public Service Office and Brenda Hernandez, associate director for diversity & inclusion with Student Affairs, Fischetti was awarded the 2018 Alexander G. Gray Jr. Scholarship for the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association.

The Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association (Mass. LGBTQ Bar) is “a voluntary state-wide professional association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer lawyers and our allies, providing a visible LGBTQ presence within the Massachusetts legal community.” The Alec Gray Scholarship was named after Alexander “Alec” Gray Jr., who served on the Mass. LGBTQ Bar Board from 2002 to 2005. Gray was dedicated to public service and was serious about mentoring LGBTQIA law students and new lawyers. The scholarship is awarded to second or third-year law students who “demonstrate a commitment to and involvement in the LGBTQ community, leadership, maturity and responsibility.”

As copresident of OutLaw, Fischetti put law students in contact with LGBTQIA attorneys through a variety of professional events. The “Out and About in the Legal Profession” panel brought attorneys to BU Law to discuss their experiences working in professional legal settings as public members of the LGBTQIA community. Attorneys who served on the panel worked at large law firms, the Committee for Public counsel Services, and everywhere in between. OutLaw also hosted a firm visit series “where students could get one-on-one feedback on resumes and interviewing skills from practicing attorneys,” according to Fischetti.

Fischetti saw his role as a student interviewer on the BU Law Faculty Appointments Committee as “two-fold: to understand the applicant and their values and perspectives, and also to teach the applicant about the values and perspectives of the BU Law community.” His questions for candidates focused on how they would improve the campus climate for diverse and LGBTQ students.

Adam Harmon was “instrumental in coaching me through the scholarship application,” says Fischetti. Harmon had received the Alexander G. Gray Jr. Scholarship as a student at BC Law School, and proved to be a valuable resource and big supporter in Fischetti’s application process. Brenda Hernandez, who previously worked with Fischetti to plan the Be Yourself Orientation, a two-day program designed for incoming diverse and LGBTQIA students, wrote him a letter of recommendation.

“Brenda continues to be one of the people I admire most at BU Law,” he says. “She makes our community feel like home.”

For his final year at BU Law, Fischetti hopes to enjoy being a law student and spend time with friends. He hopes to stay in Boston following graduation working at a law firm or working in-house in the financial services industry.

“I hope other students will feel encouraged to apply for scholarships given by different affinity groups and bar associations in Boston,” Fischetti says. “I was hesitant to apply at first, but after feeling the support of faculty, staff, and friends, I finally felt like I should go for it.”

Reported by Yadira Flores (CAS’19)

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Gerard Fischetti (’19) wins Alexander G. Gray Jr. Scholarship from the Mass. LGBTQ Bar Association

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