Harpole Awards
The friends, family, and classmates of Joyce Ann Harpole ’79 annually honor her spirit and achievements by presenting a scholarship and an award in her name.
April 7, 2015
Keeping life sane and stable is a challenge for anyone, but for law students and attorneys, it can seem nearly impossible.
Add in healthy doses of family, friends, and community involvement and you’ve got a serious balancing act on your hands. Joyce Ann Harpole ’79 was the rare person who pulled it off, admirably maintaining both a sense of professionalism and a delight for life. Her friends, family, and classmates annually honor her spirit and achievements by presenting a scholarship and an award in her name.
This year’s event, which was held at the offices of Harpole’s former firm, Stoel Rives, kicked off with a CLE panel discussion led by Barnes Ellis, Kevin O’Connell, and past Harpole Award recipient Dana Sullivan. The panelists offered examples of their own experiences with balancing a busy legal career with a fulfilling personal life, and the insights they have gained into what works and what doesn’t. Attendees came away with helpful suggestions and learned that taking time to add joy to life will make for not only a happier, but also a more successful, career.
The 17th annual Joyce Ann Harpole Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Megan Lang ’16. Classmates say Lang is a person of great integrity who goes out of her way to be helpful. One of her friends described her as patient, generous, and “always smiling.” Lang has been a teaching fellow for several classes through the Academic Enhancement Program, which helps first-year students with extra classes and tutoring. She is also a competitive belly dancer, in addition to being a conscientious student and working at Lewis & Clark’s Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic.
Laura Schantz ’94 was this year’s recipient of the Harpole Attorney Award. Schantz is well respected as an expert family law attorney, former president of the Washington County Bar Association, and community volunteer. To the Washington County legal community, she is familiar as an advocate for the local bar and as a judge pro-tem, playing a large part in improving the county’s mediation program. Schantz has also been an outstanding mentor to law students and new lawyers. To her former classmates, Schantz is perhaps best known for balancing evening school, work, and the parenting of four small children. Family is still a cornerstone of her schedule: You will not find her in her busy law office on Fridays, which she devotes to looking after her three grandchildren.
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