2024 Distinguished Achievement Awards Dinner
October 31, 2024
The UNM School of Law and the Board of the UNM School of Law Alumni/ae Association hosted the 2024 Distinguished Achievement Awards Dinner on October 18, 2024. The 2024 Distinguished Achievement Awards were proudly presented to Gloria Valencia-Weber, F. Michael Hart, and The Honorable Deb Haaland. The Alumni Promise Award was presented to Noell Sauer Huffmyer.
In 1993, School of Law Alumni/ae board members began a tradition of honoring people who have served the legal community in a significant way at an annual dinner and awards ceremony. The purpose of the Distinguished Achievement Awards Dinner is to celebrate notable accomplishments and dedicated service by lawyers and others in the legal community to the School of Law, the New Mexico legal community, and the greater community inside and outside of New Mexico. Since the dinner started, over 70 honorees, more than 7,000 attendees, and hundreds of sponsors have participated in the event. The dinner has raised over $500,000 for law school initiatives, including full-tuition Alumni Association scholarships and other scholarships presented to incoming law students. Class of 2027 Alumni/ae Association Scholarship recipient Jane Tabet-Kirkpatrick shared, “Receiving the New Mexico School of Law Alumni Association Award allowed me to fully commit to the state that I love. I am (at least) a sixteenth-generation New Mexican, and during my law application journey, I applied to schools across the country and had enticing offers to leave the state. When I found out that I had been awarded this full scholarship opportunity, it fully sealed my commitment to the UNM School of Law and allowed me to freely commit to the state and issues that I am passionate about unburdened by the economic hardship that accompanies law school and the debt that later dominates career choices. I feel extraordinarily lucky be able to stay in my home state and continue dedicating my career to la lucha.”
The School and the Alumni Association would like to express heartfelt congratulations to all honorees and thank the event sponsors and guests.
Event photos can be accessed here.
Nominations are now open for the 2025 awards. Closing date is February 17, 2025.
