Join Me: A Letter from the Annual Fund Chair
Fellow alumni,
I am honored to send this letter asking that you join me, if you are in place to do so, in giving back to Minnesota Law.
Somewhere near the middle of my 1L year, the gravity of the profession I was about to enter began to dawn on me. The benefit and the burden that come with being a trusted advisor to individuals and companies in their most trying times. It stressed me out. So did exams and outlining. So I would walk the short distance from the Law School to the Grand Marc apartments, and I would look up at the night sky and tell myself, “There are people under this same sky with problems bigger than my own.” I was gaining the tools I would need to help navigate some of those problems as an attorney.
But, to quote Rihanna, we fell in love in a hopeless place. My class of 2010 moved in the week that the 35W bridge collapsed down the block and we graduated into an economy crumbling under the weight of failed banks. It was not an easy time to be a new graduate or a young lawyer, just as today is not an easy time to be a lawyer, period. My law school classmates—like you and your classmates—have been through a lot.
And yet, we are here. We survived three years of legal education in a rigorous academic environment, emerging more resilient human beings, with friends and colleagues who continue to carry each other through life’s and work’s challenges all these years later. Minnesota Law gave us an intellectual and practical foundation from which to thrive professionally and as citizens of our local, national, and global communities. Minnesota Law helped shape us into the lawyers and people we are today—ever ready for the ubiquitous pivot, trusted advisors at the top of our game.
As you reflect on your own law school journey, I hope you are struck (as I am) by the importance of paying it forward, to ensure that the next generation of lawyers has the opportunity to build the same connections and receive the same outstanding education that we did. It is in this spirit that I invite you to join me in making a gift to the University of Minnesota Law School today. Whether your gift is large or small, you will help ensure that our alma mater continues to foster the development of future lawyer-leaders.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kristin K. Zinsmaster, ‘10
2023-2024 University of Minnesota Law School Annual Fund Chair
Kristin K. Zinsmaster ‘10