21903 TWLS summer2000 - Texas Wesleyan School of Law - Texas ...

law, getting students in his immigration class
involved with a public service clinic sponsored
by a local church.
“My students volunteered in a program
designed to help indigent people who are
looking for ways to get residency,” he said. “I
also began discussions with the Tarrant
County Bar about developing programs revolving
around the issues of immigration, especially
in the area of crime and immigration. At
this point, we have set the groundwork and
established the need for the programs, and the
bar has been very receptive.”
Colon-Navarro also was very active in extracurricular
activities. He worked with other
faculty providing assistance to first-year
students and visited several local schools to
talk about the legal profession. He said he
particularly enjoyed working as an adviser to
the moot court team.
“I had the pleasure of coaching the team
that went to Wisconsin, and they did very
well,” he said. “Texas Wesleyan has done an
outstanding job of recruiting some of the
brightest law students around. Our moot
court teams have experienced a great deal of
success, and other schools are really starting
to notice.”
Though immigration law is Colon-Navarro’s
passion, he said he brought the same energy
level to students in his property class. He said
he will remember his property class because of
the personal difficulties many of his students
experienced, but added that he was thankful
to have been able to teach his students a life
lesson he hopes they will never forget.
“It was a very tough semester,” Colon-
Navarro said. “We had a student who died and
several of the students experienced deaths in
their families. As these circumstances began
to unfold, I told my students they needed to
put law school in perspective. I told them that
as important as their education is, there are
more important things in life.
“I said law school is very important, but
don’t stop talking to your husbands or your
wives, don’t stop talking to your friends and
don’t make your education all consuming. You
are going to have other things that occupy
your life, so don’t get sick when something
else comes up. I think, because of my background,
I was able to convey that in a credible
way because it was my personal experience.
“I tell my students that a tragedy isn’t
getting a ‘D’ or even failing law school.
These things are an inconvenience, an
embarrassment, a road block or a dream
unfulfilled. A tragedy is when a mother puts
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
her children in day care at 8:00 in the morning
and gets a call an hour later saying that
her babies are gone – like what happened in
Oklahoma. That is a tragedy.”
Colon-Navarro’s genuine concern for his
students was definitely appreciated by those
with whom he came in contact. This was
evidenced in April at the Barristers’ Ball
when he received a standing ovation for two
awards he received from the student body,
the 1999-2000 Evening Professor of the Year
and 1999-2000 Visiting Distinguished Professor.
“It was overwhelming,” he said. “I don’t
think I have done anything out of the ordinary.
All I did was say hello in the halls,
make myself available, work hard in my
classes and listen to my students. I have
done what I think is normal.
“Sometimes, we don’t realize what a smile
or a hello or a minute’s conversation in the
hall can do. Many of the students who I
didn’t have in class said their reaction in part
was for these things. I am surprised, delighted
and overwhelmed because never in
my mind did I expect this.”
Colon-Navarro said he expects to hear great
things about the law school, and added that
he is proud to have been associated with
Texas Wesleyan.
“I’ve enjoyed being a part of developing the
school over the last year,” he said. “I think
the school has an excellent faculty. The
professors have vast experience with great
local and national reputations. The mixture
is perfect.
“The faculty has a group of well-prepared
young faculty members and seasoned professors.
It is a good balance. It is a faculty that
is fortunate to have a great new leader in
Dean Gershon. He is doing a great job with a
program that is not only needed, but also
welcomed in this area.”
And though Colon-Navarro said he will
miss the many students he has met this year,
he said they should feel comfortable knowing
they have chosen an outstanding law school
and that they will be well prepared for a
career in law when they leave.
“I told my students they should be proud of
this school,” he said. “It is an excellent
blueprint for the ideal law school. You can
still tinker with it. You can still work with it,
as opposed to other schools that have been
around awhile, where change is a difficult
process. The school is at a point that it can
become anything the faculty and students
want it to be.” ■
“I tell my
students that
a tragedy
isn’t getting a
‘D’ or even
failing law
school. These
things are an
inconvenience,
an
embarrassment,
a road
block or a
dream unfulfilled.
A
tragedy is
when a
mother puts
her children
in day care at
8:00 in the
morning and
gets a call an
hour later
saying that
her babies are
gone – like
what happened
in
Oklahoma.
That is a
tragedy.”
Fernando
Colon-Navarro
Visiting
Professor
Wesle esle esley esle an an La Lawy La wy wyer wyer
er • Summer 2000
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