Peter '91 and Meredith '91 Stoma

Breaking Bread to Foster Connection and Success

There is something about sharing a meal together that creates a connection, forms a bond, establishes a remembrance. For Dean Kathleen Boozang, her "Dinners with the Dean" are an opportunity to know, better understand and help guide students. Grateful for the impact the Dinner with the Dean had on their daughter Samantha '21, Peter '91 and Meredith '91 Stoma established a fund at Seton Hall Law to enable more students to benefit from the bond of a shared meal.

"One of the wonderful things Dean Boozang did for our daughter was to give her an opportunity to speak openly about her goals and dreams," says Meredith. "It fostered a connection and relationship. We want others to experience that sort of casual, intimate setting where they can talk openly."

Embracing Seton Hall Law's ethos of One Student at a Time, Boozang will invite a student to dinner and ask that student to bring four to five other students. During those dinners, she has learned about the needs of the student body, provided career advice and established connections for students within the Seton Hall Law community.

After obtaining her J.D., Samantha clerked for the Honorable Jeffrey Jablonski, Assignment Judge, Hudson County, and then joined the firm of Coughlin Midlige & Garland. While at Seton Hall Law, she served as a student attorney in the Health Justice Clinic and as a judicial intern for the District of New Jersey.

"I feel so lucky. My daughter flourished at the Law School and is moving on in such a great direction," says Meredith, Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith.

The Stoma Family Fund also is their way of showing their appreciation for the Chancellor's Scholarship Samantha received.

As was the case for their daughter, the Stomas gained much from their time at Seton Hall Law.

"We had such a great experience at Seton Hall Law. We met our dearest friends there, plus I met my husband, my number one," says Meredith. "The education you get there is invaluable, and the network created and fostered by the school is very strong."

Peter, retired from his position with the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, now runs his own firm. He and his wife have maintained a strong connection to the Law School, serving as Moot Court judges and in other capacities. One especially moving moment for the couple was being able to present Samantha with her law degree at graduation. "That meant a lot," says Meredith. Their other daughter Sara currently is a Corporate Communications Intern with Washington Commanders in D.C.

Meredith and her husband have yet another reason for supporting Dinners with the Dean. "We feel it's important to support and mentor the next generation because we also want to see people fostering our daughters' careers," she explains.