|
Timothy Bearese
March 2010
The VLP is pleased
to announce that
Timothy Bearese
has been selected as
our Outstanding
Law Student Volunteer
for the month of
March. As a 2L, Tim
has been
volunteering in the VLP’s Minor
Guardianship
Clinic. Tim has proved to
be a natural in
the courtroom. At his
very first hearing
he radiated confidence
and
professionalism, and impressed the
judge with his
take charge attitude. Tim
demonstrated skill
far beyond his years and the VLP is very proud to count him
among our
volunteers.
Tim was raised in Saudi Arabia where his parents and eldest brother
continue
to reside. He says spending part of his childhood in the Middle
East taught
him “a lot about living and thriving in another culture, the
differences in wealth
and privilege that often exist side by side, the beauty of the
desert and the joy
of Middle Eastern food.” Tim returned to the States when he was
fifteen so that
he could attend high school and college in Maryland. He received
his B.A. in
History and a minor in Spanish from the University of Maryland in
2005. After
graduation, Tim spent the next two years living in French West
Africa as a
Peace Corps volunteer. During that time, he worked on increasing
the
enrollment rates for village girls at a rural elementary school,
worked as
an English teacher and small business advisor, and served as an HIV
and
life skills advisor to the local community. His experiences in West
Africa left
him conversant in Gulmanchema, the local African dialect, and with a
deep-
seated commitment to giving back to his community.
There’s no doubt that time in the Peace Corps can be a life changing
experience, but Tim’s experiences in law school and with VLP have
had a
lasting effect on him as well.
I see much more
now how great the barriers are that restrict
common people’s
access to the legal system. Our legal system
was envisioned as
a place where everybody could have their day
in court to have a
chance to air their grievances before a neutral
decision maker.
However, the reality of the legal system today
is a place that
requires a lot of technical expertise to access.
If people don’t
have this expertise or the resources to hire
someone who does,
the sad truth is that they might have a
very difficult
time realizing that dream of a day in court.
Professor David Marcus has been another source of influence for Tim
in law
school whom he calls extremely knowledgeable and passionate. Tim
states:
His greatest
teaching achievement may be showing his small
section how the
opaque and arcane details of civil procedure
are not only
logical in their way but also tremendously important
to the world
outside the courts. He showed us not only how to
understand the
mechanics of the courts, but also made us
want to. He is a
great mentor and friend to his students and
hilarious, to
boot. He works so hard that his health suffers
and is so modest
that he can’t help but inspire fanatical
devotion in his
small section.
Tim is also passionate in declaring Pico de Gallo Tucson’s
best restaurant.
He says “thinking
about their tortilla soup makes me hungry, even if I have
just eaten and
their fish tacos are amazing. It’s a small place but always
busy. Also, they
have frosty smooth horchata that is spiced to perfection.”
Tim is a big fan
of comedic television and finds himself watching The Daily
Show,
Glee, 30 Rock and The Office whenever he needs a
break from
studying. Tim
also has a great description of his dream job. He describes
it as a job
“working with the immigrant population in Tucson to help them
stand up and
defend their rights in the court room and in the public sphere.
I would get paid
enough to keep me from worrying about my student loans
and have time
enough that I could spend my weekends with my family.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
