| Originally published in Student
Lawyer magazine, December 2004 (Vol. 33, No. 4). All rights
reserved.
SBA Award
Widener-Delaware Law Student Laid Groundwork for Leadership
by Katherine Licup
Michael Burns was determined to make Widener University School
of Law-Delaware a better place. His efforts were rewarded in August
at the ABA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, where the Law Student Division
honored him with the 2003-04 SBA President Award.
Burns, a former Third Circuit governor of the Law Student Division
who graduated last spring, set goals during his two-year tenure
as SBA president. In the first year, he led a reorganization of
student government. In the second year, he wanted Widener-Delaware
to win national recognition.
He accomplished both goals. In addition to Burns’ award,
Widener won the Division’s Membership Award for achieving
a 78 percent increase in ABA membership, and Widener was a finalist
in the SBA of the Year competition.
Burns attributes his award to his love of his law school and other
SBA members.
“You can’t just do it for a résumé,”
he says. “You have to care, and you have to like what you
do. It all starts by organizing internally, surrounding yourself
with a great board, having a handbook to set policies, and getting
the right people in the right position. Set small goals and stick
to a plan.”
Burns is a strong believer in not reinventing the wheel. At Widener,
he developed a binder containing documentation of the SBA’s
procedures and activities to help incoming student leaders. It’s
something he recommends for all SBA presidents.
“Keep records of what you’re doing and pass it on,”
he says.
Burns inspired others at his school to step forward into leadership
positions. He encouraged Vicki Goodman to run for Third Circuit
governor earlier this year and laid the groundwork for Widener-Delaware’s
current SBA president, Chris Cabott.
“There were nights when Mike Burns slept in his office,”
Cabott told students during the ceremony when the award was announced.
“This man has given his blood, sweat, and tears to our school.”
SBA President Award finalists were Bobak Ha’Eri of the University
of Minnesota Law School, Chris Burk of Thomas Jefferson School of
Law, and Santosh Narayan of Vanderbilt University Law School.
Katherine Licup, a third-year evening student at Loyola University
Chicago School of Law, is Student Lawyer’s student editor.
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