“It's an honor so great and a gift so generous that it makes it hard to believe that you can be worthy of a stranger's generosity on a scale that large.”

These words from Kenzie Carson show the impact of scholarships for the students who receive them. Carson, a first-year law student, is the first recipient of the Professor Julie M. Cheslik Merit Scholarship Endowed Fund. The fund was created by Julie Cheslik, J.D., a professor at UMKC School of Law for more than 30 years.

“My hope is that this scholarship helps us attract an excellent law student to UMKC Law School whose presence enhances the atmosphere of the law school while they are here as a student and, later, as an alum and contributing community member,” said Cheslik.

The scholarship fund covers tuition for a student’s three years at the UMKC School of Law, a value of more than $72,000. For Carson, this scholarship was the difference between attending UMKC or not. Although UMKC was her first choice, she needed to go to the school that offered her the most scholarship dollars, a choice she made for her and her family.

“The Cheslik Scholarship means everything to me,” Carson said. “I don’t have to worry about anything except the material that I am learning. It impacts my entire family, and I know it will have a lasting impact on my future and future family as well. I was raised by a single mom, so finances have always been a concern. With this scholarship, my family does not have to make sacrifices to help me continue my education.”

When asked why she chose to create the fund, Cheslik said, “I was inspired to create a scholarship because we know excellent students pursuing admission to law school consider multiple schools, and investing in scholarship funding ensures we can attract talented future lawyers.”

Marie Dispenza (J.D. ’05), executive director of the UMKC Law Foundation, praised Cheslik’s dedication to students, stating, “Because of Professor Cheslik’s deeply rooted enthusiasm for the UMKC School of Law and its students, she uniquely knows the value of creating a scholarship to ensure students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and exemplary leadership can attend UMKC and eventually display the excellence of a UMKC education throughout their legal career.”