This year’s Homecoming weekend was one to be remembered. Not necessarily by the tailgates or the unfortunate loss the Hoosiers experienced, but by the people who have helped make IU one of the best places to receive an education.
During the weekend of IU’s 2016 Homecoming, we witnessed Judge Lorna G. Schofield (BA’77) be recognized with both the Indiana University Distinguished Asian Pacific American Alumni Award and be one of the four recipients of IU’s highest accolade – the Distinguished Alumni Service Award.
She currently serves as a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York, a position she was nominated for by President Obama, and she is the first Filipino-American to do so.
Her path to success is not one that she would describe as extraordinary. But, it is her demonstrated work ethic that has created a remarkable and successful career. Going from an IU student who studied German and English to becoming a federal judge wasn’t something that happened overnight and it’s definitely not something that came easy for Schofield.
“The stars have to align and you need to get very lucky, and I was very lucky,” she said.
Lucky, she was. However, she holds IU to be one of the reasons why she evolved into the trailblazing figure she is today; stating that IU played a pivotal role when she left a sheltered home headed by a single parent and began to enter the real world. Of course, she also credits her mother, who set high expectations for her, as being the biggest influence in her life. However, her indomitable spirit was tested when her mother unexpectedly passed away during her undergraduate years at IU. As a result, Schofield became resilient, persevered and persisted all the way through to her graduation in 1977.
She then went onto to Brown University with the hopes of pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative literature, but decided to explore her curiosity in law and enroll in New York University where she received her Juris Doctorate in 1981. This would create the path for her exemplary legal career.
Upon completing her professional degree, Schofield joined the Debevoise & Plimpton firm in 1988 and would later become a partner in 1991. She worked alongside this firm until 2012, when she was nominated by President Barack Obama for her current position.
(l-r) Thao Nelson, Lorna G. Schofield, and G. Michael Witte
Judge Schofield is no ordinary alumna, and she certainly exemplifies the best things that emanate from IU. These prestigious awards aren’t easily achieved and it was with great pride and honor that members of the Asian Alumni Association watched her speak at the podium and receive a recognition she was destined to have. It was an easy decision for their selection committee and for her nominator and fellow award recipient, Judge G. Michael Witte, the first Asian American judge in Indiana to recommend Schofield for this distinction, nor was her candidacy contested, just like her federal nomination. “When I think about Judge Schofield’s background, I think about how important it is for Asian women to have role models to look up to,” said Thao Nelson, president of IU’s Asian Alumni Association.