Distinguished Law Student Story
Adam Schmit Term Clerk to the Hon . Shad M . Robinson
In March , 2024 , I was honored to be selected as one of the American College of Bankruptcy ’ s Distinguished Law Students and invited to the College ’ s annual conference in Washington D . C . This opportunity proved to be unlike anything I had experienced before in my academic or professional career .
I had wanted to visit our nation ’ s capital since I was a young boy . I have a deep appreciation of our nation ’ s history and studied political science and philosophy in undergrad — I even concentrated on the philosophy of government . However , a visit to D . C . just wasn ’ t in the cards growing up , and I kept a tight budget through college and law school . Due to the generosity of the members of the College , I was finally able to visit some of the incredible monuments I dreamed about seeing since I was a kid . On the last day of the conference , I woke up before sunrise , strapped on some running shoes , and jogged around D . C . Everything was as awe-inspiring as I hoped , with the World War II Memorial and Arlington Cemetery being especially profound experiences .
In addition to seeing D . C ., the College gave me the opportunity to meet other distinguished students who shared my interest in bankruptcy law . One student from every Circuit attends , so we were an interesting mix of people from around the
country . It quickly became clear that the College does not simply select students based on the highest GPA possible — the College looks to recognize students who perform well in bankruptcy and are genuinely nice , welcoming , and interesting people . We had a Distinguished Law Student dinner on the first night at an incredible restaurant — I forget the name but will never forget how good the salmon tasted . We talked and laughed for hours ; I think we were at dinner from 8 until midnight , but to be completely honest , my memory is a little hazy . What I do remember is laughter , good vibes , and interesting conversation , with talks meandering between bankruptcy papers we wrote , the best places to run along the harbor in Boston , one student ’ s opera singing background , another ’ s Division I football experience , and more . I ’ m grateful to have met every one of these students , and I look forward to running into them again throughout my career .
But the students were not the only great people I met at the conference . Prior to the student dinner , there was a happy hour in a conference room at the hotel . When I entered , I was greeted by numerous people who were genuinely interested in talking with me . I distinctly remember being approached by Richard Carmody , who asked me to join him at a table and we talked for quite a while . Richard is a wine enthusiast , and he informed me that he was the alcohol sponsor for the student dinner and had carefully picked out the wine selection for us . The wine was incredible , and I still talk with Richard to this day about topics ranging
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