ACADEMY MEMORIES

(Editor’s note: We asked Academy participants to share a memory of their time in Dallas. Here is what some of our alumni said in response.)

Stefan Brunnschweiler (2001, Switzerland) - Hot temperatures, hot discussions and hot people! Kind regards.

Cecilia Flores Rueda (2007, Mexico) - My days in the Academy have been the richest in my life, because of the first-class professors, the cultural diversity, the warmth of the hosts and participants, and all the joy and fun I got.

Innocent Kihika (1999, Uganda) - My favourite moment was organizing the show at the end of the course. The show turned out to be a success and showed that the participants did have brilliant talent beyond being lawyers! Finally, Ina will always be the best memory of the Academy! Best regards and happy new year!

Eckart Klein (1972, Germany) Prof. of Law Emeritus, former Director of the Human Rights Centre of the  University of Potsdam, Former member of the UN Human Rights Committee, Judge at the Constitutional Court of the Land Bremen … My memories date back to the year 1972. It was a wonderful time, I enjoyed inspiring lectures - particularly I remember those by Benjamin Aaron on US Constitutional Law, and great examples of American hospitality by families who had agreed to care for foreign students. The experiences I have made during this period of time were very helpful through all my life as an academic teacher, a position from where I retired recently. Still today, I am in touch with one of my colleagues of those old days who is now judge at the Court of Cassation in Rome. Thank you very much.

Javier Robalino (1994, Ecuador) - one of the best memories I have is the farewell party back in 1994.  We had a great time during the 1994 World Cup (Soccer). I will look for pictures. Best.

Marcelo Cortes Romanelli (2009, Brazil) – The opportunity to be with Mr. Garner and Justice Scalia was unique. They are very important and eminent people in the legal world. It was a great honor for me to be part of the 2009 Academy! Best regards.

Sam Sserwanga (2004, Uganda) - Greetings and many thanks for keeping in touch since I left the Academy in 2004. I recall many memorable events at the Academy that were indeed exciting moments namely: (1) the visits we had as a group throughout Plano and its surroundings: I can’t forget the Rodeo, seeing the cowboys facing the charged bulls – that is something I will never forget; (2) the exciting lectures and the choice of facilitators was and still remains a plus for the Academy; (3) the graduation day was very exciting too - well organized along with the alumni from Peru receiving the Storey award; (4) I also can’t forget the day I was part of the Jury at the Center. Of course there were many other exciting events during the six weeks, but the above will forever be fresh in my mind. Kind regards.

Maria Elena Subero (2008, Venezuela) - I have so many favorite memories, but one of the most important for me was when we cooked the typical foods of every country. In my case I cooked arepas. It was so difficult to find ingredients in Dallas. Finally, I cooked the famous AREPAS and everyone liked. It was an opportunity to share and know about the culture of each country. I remember sharing the foods with my colleagues of Brazil, Russia, México, Colombia, China, Japan and Nigeria.  I will never forget the special moment.  Thanks Mark for give the opportunities to remember us the special and important of the Academy is!!!!

Aida Tagalog (2004, Philippines) – Howdy Everyone! The Academy is always in my consciousness, not only when I visit its website or when I receive various brochures announcing its various programs, or when I view the photos of the different activities of our 2004Academy or when I read the e-mails of our e-group when it was still active, but there are lots of time that I always reminisce of the happy and fruitful times at the Academy. Without fail, it is always heartwarming and uplifting.  If I am asked for a "Happy Thought", readily, the 2004 Academy is in my top list. It was really an honor for me to be in the midst of intelligent, dynamic, beautiful participants of different nationalities of Class 2004, the "cream of the crop." I had a memorable learning experience  imparted by brilliant legal minds- a taste of an American type of legal education; watched rodeo - very exciting and a novel show for me; baseball game-the enormous stadium is overwhelming; ate a lot of Texas barbeque, green salads and many mouth-watering dishes- added poundage to me; visited law schools- made me miss my law school back home; a Dallas law firm- Wow!!!, the architectural marvel where it holds office- another Wow!!!; the different museums in Fort Worth - spell-binding, I didn't want to leave; the seat of government in Austin- very, very impressive and last but not the least, the Alamo in San Antonio, a historical visit in behalf of my husband who is a history buff and reminded me visit this hallowed place to REMEMBER THE ALAMO . It is my turn now to REMEMBER THE ACADEMY with so much fondness in my heart .

Rafael Crescencio C. Tan, Jr. (1994, Philippines) - The whole six weeks in the Academy were unforgettable. From the first day of the welcome dinner to the last day of the farewell lunch, and all the activities in between, were simply hard to forget. I still vividly remember them and most especially the participants in that academy I attended. We were the group that had the equivalent of a yearbook with photos of some of our activities and of all the participants and the academy administration and staff. It is now one of my prized possessions.

Ernesto Villamizer-Cajiao (1972, Colombia) - This is really a great surprise from the past! I attended the Academy in the summer of 1972, had wonderful memories of my attendance and even married a Dallas girl in the following year. Many fond memories, and one not so great, which was that I suffered Hay Fever, for which I was given some kind of medicine (antihistamine), which made me drowsy– even during our classes- so I sat in the first row, so my colleagues could kick me if I fell asleep. My dear friend Professor Covey T. Oliver (Dean of the Penn State Law School), with whom I had formed a great bond when he had been US Ambassador to Colombia, and I wrote a piece for the ABA on the Andean (trade) Pact, which would  take effect January 1973.  But here is the anecdote which really made me proud of my Legal instinct: Sundays we would have a leisurely breakfast in the Lawyer’s Inn cafeteria; Professors had the privilege of a copy of the Sunday Dallas Morning News, so we kind of bumped our way into the table of a friendly face. My Constitutional Law professor who knew me from my sleeping bouts and of course my explanations that his excellent class merited, allowed me to read his paper. I interrupted his reading of a very important paper with this observation: “Gosh! This is really important”, referring to a one inch blip on a robbery committed in the offices of the Democratic Party HQ in the Watergate Building in DC. Turning his attention to my comment, he kindly asked my origin, I replied “Colombia!” and turning back to his reading, said “that is the problem with you Latinos; you see conspiracies in every street corner”. Years later, as an Exxon Attorney I reminded Professor Leon Jaworski of the anecdote and he prized me with a copy of his book on his Watergate Special Prosecutor experience. I travel often to Texas, since luck would have it my daughter is married to a San Antonio boy and, along with my prized 2 year old Sofia, they live in Aubrey, Texas.