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BICKEL & BREWER TAPS DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION
AND FINANCIAL AID AT ST. MARK'S SCHOOL TO HEAD LAW FIRM'S
FOUNDATION
Contact: Mark Hopkinson 561/750-9800 x21
E-mail: mhopkinson@TransMediagroup.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DALLAS, TX., June 20, 2000.-Stephen H. Gonzales, a
39-year old Mexican-American educator who has helped hundreds
of students of color receive the private schooling their parents
could only dream of for their children, was named Director
of the Bickel & Brewer Legal Foundation, it was announced
today by William A. Brewer III.
As director of the national law firm's philanthropic arm,
"Gonzales will continue his life's work of intervening in
the lives of children who are disadvantaged by seeing that
they receive the best possible education," said Brewer. The
Foundation is funded by the firm's innovative Bickel & Brewer
Storefronts, where its lawyers volunteer their time to assist
residents and owners of small businesses with legal problems
in the city's less affluent neighborhoods, charging only what
these clients can afford.
Besides the appointment of Gonzales, Brewer announced the
Foundation will award four minority student scholarships,
one a year for the next four years, to attend St. Mark's School
of Texas. So in four years there will be four standing Bickel
& Brewer Legal Foundation Scholarships at St. Mark's, Gonzales
said. A member of the prestigious National Association of
Independent Schools, St. Mark's is widely considered one of
the top prep schools in the country for boys. Among its graduates
are Tommy Lee Jones, Ross Perot Jr. and Robert W. Decherd,
President and CEO of A.H. Belo Corp, which owns The Dallas
Morning News.
"Our firm is delighted to help in educating the future leaders
of groups that may be minorities today, but are on the verge
of becoming the majority in our community," said John W. Bickel
II.
The youngest of five sons of a Merchant Marine father and
a hard-working mother in Galveston, Gonzales calls himself
"a product of what I do." He said if it weren't for financial
assistance he received himself, he would not have been able
to go to private schools and then on to law school. He said
his parents, both high school dropouts, could only dream of
such an education for their children.
"My father traveled all over the world and knew the importance
of education, but he couldn't afford to educate his sons properly
without financial assistance." Today, two of Gonzales' brothers
have graduated from college and one is about to."
Gonzales said he feels entrusted with the heart of Bickel
& Brewer and will carry out the firm's commitment to education
in helping to provide opportunities to groups traditionally
under represented in higher education in Dallas.
While Director of Admission and Financial Aid at St. Mark's,
Gonzales increased minority enrollment more than 10 percent
in four years. Prior to that, as an Associate Director of
Admission and Coordinator of Minority Academic Retention at
Southern Methodist University, he was instrumental in doubling
Hispanic enrollment in the six years he was there.
One day while counseling a Hispanic undergrad to go on to
graduate school, Gonzales who had only an undergraduate degree
himself at the time, said the student turned to him and said
"if you're pushing me, what about you?" So, Gonzales went
on to graduate from SMU law school.
A highly regarded speaker, Gonzales conducts workshops and
seminars and gives motivational talks to student and professional
groups. He has served on the scholarship committee of the
National Hispanic Scholarship Program of the College Board
and the Educational Testing Service/CocaCola Foundation Scholars
Program. In spring l991, he was named "Administrator of the
Year" by the SMU Student Senate.
Gonzales began his career in education as an instructor in
the Houston Spring Branch Independent School District and
as a leadership instructor for Sam Houston State's Gifted
and Talented Summer Camp and as an Admission Counselor there.
He lives in University Park with his wife Christine and three
children.
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