Below are the statements of the candidates who want to fill positions on the PAD board for 2010-2011.  The statements are listed by board position.  Please take time to review each candidate's statement.

JUSTICE

Gia Conti

My name is Gia Conti and I am running to be your Phi Alpha Delta Justice.  First, I know how to organize a successful PAD event. In March I single handedly put together the “how to get a summer internship 101 event.” After weekly meetings with Justice Powell, I know how to finance an event, how to work with alumni, how to obtain administrative approval for an event, and how to market an event.   I’ve also had the pleasure of working with PAD members Jeff Arnold and Svetlana Gitman as a model in the PAD/ CBA fashion show.  Second, for four years of my undergraduate career at Miami of Ohio I worked as President of my Resident Hall Association governing a body of 400 students and led a 6 person executive committee.  In this position I oversaw an executive staff that was very similar to the one we have running PAD. I understand and I am familiar with the duties associated with an oversight position that works with students and administrators.  This experience has taught me the importance of delegation and teamwork.  Someone once told me, “getting what you want is the perfect balance of charm and persuasion.” No one likes a dictator, and in order to delegate effectively you MUST know when to lead and to follow.  Last, I am the right choice for justice because I know when to have fun and when to be professional.  Justice is a position that spends a lot of time with PAD alumni and administrators as well as all of YOU.  Professionally, in putting together the summer internship program, I worked closely with the Associated Director of Alumni Relations, Kevin Hull, and other successful John Marshall alumni.  At the same time, I actively balance having a social life.  I know how to go out and have fun at a social event and hang out with fellow members.  I am excited to come up with new social events and outings such as sporting events, pub-crawls, and intramurals… just to name a few. I’d be honored to represent you all and I ask for your vote this Tuesday ! Gia for Justice.

Emily Duerringer

My name is Emily Duerringer and I am currently in the second semester of my first year of law school.  So far, the opportunities and challenges of law school has really given me the chance to find out what I am passionate about, and this organization is one of those passions. PAD, to me, means camaraderie among its members, members who are dedicated to professionalism in the legal field and service to the law and to this school.  PAD also represents a focus on students, and this is where I believe my leadership qualities and experiences shine. My past experiences and responsibilities have all been focused on working with groups of students and it is my belief that the Justice of PAD should be a proactive leader focused on student centeredness.  I have a “can-do” attitude and I believe I understand what it means to lead with passion, purpose and promise; three characteristics that are necessary in this organization in order for it to retain its positive, unique qualities. I am currently an ambassador for John Marshall and during my first tour; I couldn’t wait to tell people all about this school and what it has to offer.  I am now excited to work with PAD to show the new or current students what PAD has to offer.  Thank you for your time and just remember to “PAD your school with people who CARE.” Vote Emily Duerringer for Justice. 

 
Amber Wilson

I recently moved to Chicago from Miami, FL.   My previous leadership experience includes serving on the Executive Board for 2 years as both Vice President and Treasurer of my undergraduate sorority.  I was also our social chair and community service chair and my responsibilities included planning events such as our Winter Formal and our Casino Charity Night.  I recently transitioned from science research into the field of law and PAD was the first student organization I joined here at JMLS.  I was immediately drawn to the idea of joining a professional law fraternity.  I believe very strongly in its core values and its purpose.   I knew that joining PAD would be a way not only to meet fellow law students, but also professionals in the legal field.   PAD provides wonderful community service opportunities and brings valuable insights about how to succeed in both law school as well as in your professional career.  I want to make sure that those opportunities, which sparked my interest in PAD and more, are available to all of you.  My goal is to help each and every member of PAD succeed in their goals, both here at JMLS and professionally after graduation.   I want to keep PAD the preeminent professional law fraternity that it is as well as help to expand our membership and our bonds of fraternalism.      

VICE JUSTICE

Andy Orellana

I have the skills and temperament to be successful in ushering more of the continued success that PAD has provided for the John Marshall Law School.  My amicable personality and desire to strengthen the educational and recreational opportunities for our PAD members and JMLS student body are, I feel, the qualities needed to further the objectives of PAD.  My passion in life is to be someone of public service and I have tried to live that out in my time, interning for individuals and agencies from Members of British Parliament to the San Francisco Public Defenders office. It is my belief that being a member of the PAD Executive Board is, in a manner speaking, the same, for it is public service tailored to the JMLS community. Moreover the role of the Vice Justice is stated to be one of public relations and implicit in that is being of service to the members of the Lincoln Chapter.  It is for these reasons that I feel that I am a strong and unique candidate for Vice Justice.

Corey Tallent

Born and raised in Illinois, and graduating from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, COREY TALLENT has overcome the adversity of choosing to major in political science to attend the John Marshall Law School and represent YOU, the fantastic membership-fee paying populace of PAD, as your VICE JUSTICE.  Just what does that mean?  It’s all quite simple.  Why me and not the other guy?  Even easier: I’m highly qualified.  For three years I was democratically elected to the coveted Secretary position at my college fraternity, sitting in on chapter forums once a week and jotting down the shorthand of our past events, current events, and upcoming events as well as any motions raised or important outbursts that demanded notation for the record.  I then implemented my prowess of the written word and sent out an encompassing but accurately brief email to all 150 members of the Fraternity on campus every Monday over a three year period.  I would then post any relevant information onto the Fraternity website, maintaining it consistently when past officers would neglect it for months. Why was I continuously re-elected to this position over a course of three years at school?  Oh, I’ll tell you why.  Because I did the job and I did it flawlessly.  I spared no detail and I condensed the rambling notes of a heated discussion into one-page dissertation.  What does this have to do with PAD?  Everything.  You’ll need a solid Justice representing this Fraternity publicly and in forum, and there are three top-shelf candidates for that business.  But for the role of an equally strong, yet self-sufficient supporting actor, why elect just anybody?  Let me, COREY TALLENT, take the notes at the PAD meetings so they can be converted to the emails you read every now and then to get a thorough yet succinct update on PAD events and what’s happening that may affect your personal interests and investments.  As VICE JUSTICE, I will be the man behind the scenes YOU can trust to get the goods to you and do the grunt work so you don’t have to.  Thank you.

CLERK

Lauren Anderson

Being nominated as an officer for PAD is exciting and an honor. I believe that the office of Clerk requires a great amount of organization, time management, and excellent social skills. This position is a perfect fit for myself because I am a very organized person to begin with.  Whether it be planning out my studying schedule for the semester or determining how to spend my weekends catching up with friends, I like having a set schedule and managing my time efficiently.  The duties of the clerk require that the officer remain up-to date on the members of the Chapter, the events sponsored by the Chapter, and to maintain social relationships with many of the important professionals that enjoy being involved in our Chapter.  As an outgoing person, I enjoy meeting new people and throughly believe that my social skills surpass many others. Event planning is one of my favorite activities to perform and I will go out of my way to receive feedback from other members and coordinate events that everyone can enjoy.  PAD is an important aspect of our young legal careers. The networking skills that our members can take away from professional and social events are vital to being confident in our futures and have the potential to open doors to many future opportunities. I promise to maintain an accurate list of all of our members and to organize beneficial events. Finally, initiation into PAD is an exciting event to experience in law school and to have the honor to organize the initiations would be awesome. Thank you for nominating me for the position of clerk and I look forward to putting my best effort forth to maintain the excellent reputation our Chapter holds.

 
Corey Tallent

The same COREY TALLENT running for Vice Justice wants to serve you, the good people of PAD, so amazingly that he has done the unthinkable…he has run for a SECOND POSITION.  That’s right.  The roles of Clerk and Vice-Justice are comparable enough in principle and duties that it’s not as though I’m trying to run for both President and Minority Whip.  The Clerk is the face-behind-the-face of PAD.  While the Justice is out making school statements and planning events for the Fraternity, the Clerk is spearheading recruiting and wouldn’t you, the good people of PAD, want an energetic, multitasking, and enterprising individual to recruit you to this organization?  Of course you would.  And wouldn’t you want someone who would do the job well and get the vigorous results you expect upon electing someone to such a role?  Well with my tenacious posturing at the sign-up table as well as emphatic handing-out of flyers to everyone I made eye contract with, I single-handedly doubled participation in the First-Ever John Marshall Olympic Games.  Granted, it went from two teams to four teams, but last time I checked two doubled is four.  The Clerk also is the chief records officer and I can hold onto valuable documents like none other.  So elect, me, COREY TALLENT, as your Clerk, because the future is in your hands.  Make the most of it.

 
TREASURER

Chris Mermigas

I am a native Chicagoan and have lived here my whole life.  I learned about PAD when I can to the admitted student reception. I learned about its illustrious and proud history. When I started my first year, it was my honor and privilege to join PAD. This professional society is one of great distinctions and the members are helpful and become as close as family. This family is one that follows you for the rest of your life to be there when you need help and to pass down traditions to new members of the legal field. I have a strong backing in economics, organization and record keeping. The power of the purse is one of the greatest and strongest powers a member of an organization can obtain. This requires steadfast conviction and attention to detail. Both I possess. I believe that this makes me qualified and the best candidate for Treasurer of PAD.

 
Jake Yarnall

My name is Jacob Yarnall, candidate for PAD Treasurer for the 2010-2011 school year. I feel that I have what it takes to fulfill the duties of this position based on my previous employment history, strong work ethic, and positive attitude.  As an undergraduate, I concentrated in Finance and Economics and was a member of the Finance Club. Prior to law school, I was employed as an Accounting and Financial Analyst for a Chicago based real estate developer where I tracked the financials for several commercial and multi-unit residential properties. I was responsible for financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and filing tax returns for my properties, in addition to other duties.  I have been a member of PAD for the last year, and a member of the Pre-Law Chapter as an undergraduate and am excited to take on a larger role and become more involved in the fraternity. I believe my experience and desire to become more involved in PAD makes me the ideal candidate for Treasurer.

 
MARSHAL

 
Emily Duerringer

My name is Emily Duerringer and I am currently in the second semester of my first year of law school.  So far, the opportunities and challenges of law school has really given me the chance to find out what I am passionate about, and this organization is one of those passions. PAD, to me, means camaraderie among its members, members who are dedicated to professionalism in the legal field and service to the law and to this school.  PAD also represents a focus on students, and this is where I believe my leadership qualities and experiences shine. My past experiences and responsibilities have all been focused on working with groups of students and organizing.  I have a “can-do” attitude and I believe I understand what it means to bring passion, purpose and promise to this organization. I am currently an ambassador for John Marshall and during my first tour; I couldn’t wait to tell people all about this school and what it has to offer.  I am now excited to work with PAD to show the new or current students what PAD has to offer.  Thank you for your time and just remember to “PAD your school with people who CARE.” Vote Emily Duerringer for Marshal. 

 
Chris Mermigas

I am a native Chicagoan and have lived here my whole life.  I learned about PAD when I can to the admitted student reception. I learned about its illustrious and proud history. When I started my first year, it was my honor and privilege to join PAD. This professional society is one of great distinctions and the members are helpful and become as close as family. This family is one that follows you for the rest of your life to be there when you need help and to pass down traditions to new members of the legal field. These traditions, the Marshall of PAD is charged with maintaining. This focus is one that I feel strongly about since PAD has given us so much and to serve as a member continues the tradition and customs. These traditions need to be protected and made living so that future generation can enjoy them. Therefore, I feel I am suited for the position of Marshall for PAD.

 Statements by:

Gia Conti
Emily Duerringer
Amber Wilson

 Andy Orellana
Corey Tallent

Lauren Anderson
Corey Tallent

Chris Mermigas
Jake Yarnall

Emily Duerringer
Chris Mermigas