Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (FMC), one of Canada’s leading business and litigation law firms, recently announced the winner of the 2009 FMC-sponsored Black Business & Professional Association (BBPA) national scholarship for black law students. Danardo Jones, a University of Ottawa law student, received the scholarship at a special gala on Thursday, October 22, 2009 in Toronto.

“FMC is dedicated to promoting diversity in the workplace and we are honoured to partner with the BBPA to recognize exceptional academic achievement in the black community,” says Kate Broer, co-chair of FMC’s Diversity Committee. “We look forward to furthering our investment in the education and careers of young professionals.”

Mr. Jones, who graduated from Carleton University with a high honours undergraduate degree, is currently in his first year of the Faculty of Law program at the University of Ottawa. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Mr. Jones immigrated to Canada in 1993 and overcame many of life’s struggles and disappointments to achieve remarkable academic success.

Since a young age, Mr. Jones has dedicated his time to coach and mentor other struggling students. Between 2006 and 2008, he was a senior mentor at the Carleton Centre for Initiatives and Education, where he acted as a classroom liaison between students and professors. As a result of his mentorship experiences, Mr. Jones was invited to co-present at the 2008 Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education conference, where the importance of cultural competence in academia was discussed.

“As a young child, I overcame tremendous burdens by looking to my mother and the strength she had for me and my siblings,” says Mr. Jones. “I live by her motto, which was to ‘take every disappointment for an appointment,’ and incorporate this into every aspect of my life. I hope that through my legal education, I can not only shed a light on issues of fairness and justice, but also set a positive example for future generations.”

In 2007, Mr. Jones launched Seeds of Prevention, his own non-profit volunteer organization in Ottawa. This organization is based on the idea of social justice and offers seminars that discuss the relationships between law and the black community.

About the BBPA Scholarships

The BBPA Scholarships are awarded to black students attending a college or university in Canada, in order to further academic excellence among black youth. The BBPA first established the scholarship fund in 1988 to honour the memory of Mr. Harry Jerome, who held six world track records during the 1960s and represented Canada in three Olympic Games. He earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in science at the University of Oregon and later become a leader in sports administration in British Columbia. Mr. Jerome was admitted to the Order of Canada in 1971 and inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in 2001.

For more information, contact:

Alison Janzen
Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP
+1 416 863 4455
alison.janzen@fmc-law.com

Melissa Gambino
Maverick Public Relations Inc.
+1 416 640 5525, ext. 244
melissag@maverickpr.com