Chicago-Kent awards the first Matt Lash Memorial Scholarship
Second annual Lash Bash will be held April 24 at the LaSalle Power Company to benefit scholarship fund
Chicago-Kent College of Law has awarded the first Matt Lash Memorial Scholarship and announced the date of the second annual "Lash Bash," an event that supports the scholarship fund. Established last year by the family of Matt Lash, a 2007 Chicago-Kent graduate, and a group of his classmates, colleagues and friends, the scholarship supports Chicago-Kent students facing health challenges.
Since the establishment of the scholarship fund, more than $23,000 has been raised. A portion of the support comes from the "Lash Bash," happening this year on April 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the LaSalle Power Company, 500 North LaSalle Street. Admission is $40 at the door. The event includes an open bar and a silent auction.
Daniel D'Addario, a 2012 J.D. candidate and student in Chicago-Kent's intellectual property law certificate program, has been awarded the first Matt Lash Memorial Scholarship. Daniel earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Fordham University with a major in information sciences and a minor in philosophy. Prior to law school, he worked as a software developer for Phillips Research in Westchester County, New York, and completed an internship at the Rogers and Hammerstein Organization in New York City. Eleven years ago, Daniel contracted a virus that caused paralysis and required extensive recovery and physical therapy.
In 2000, Matt Lash was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Although his doctors gave him five years to live, Matt continued to push himself, and he achieved much. In addition to traveling the world, Matt earned his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University. He was a frequent guest speaker for the American Cancer Society, the Children's Oncology Group and other cancer organizations.
At Chicago-Kent, Matt was enrolled in the labor and employment law certificate program and aggressively pursued a career in sports law—"as a player representative or with a team." In 2004, he completed a summer internship with the Detroit Tigers. Matt also worked as a volunteer in the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball to help with preparations for the 2005 All-Star Weekend. That summer, Matt also completed a summer abroad program in International Sports and Entertainment Law in Santander, Spain.
As a visiting student at Fordham College of Law in the fall of 2006, he took courses in sports law and collective bargaining agreements while completing an internship in the baseball commissioner's office. Matt served for three years as class representative to the Student Bar Association and as a writer/correspondent for the law school's student newspaper, The Commentator.
During his time in law school, Matt underwent numerous treatments and surgeries. He became an inspiration to his friends and classmates, earning his law degree in May 2007. Despite his perseverance and enthusiasm for life, Matt lost his battle to cancer on April 30, 2008.
Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school of Illinois Institute of Technology, a private, Ph.D.-granting institution with programs in engineering, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. Chicago-Kent offers full-time and part-time J.D. and LL.M. degree programs as well as joint-degree programs with other IIT units, including Stuart School of Business.
