Tessa Tilton J.D. ’19 and Derek Trott ’18 Honored as 2017 Anderson Scholars
Honoring Alvin P. Anderson On hand for the scholarship reception were, from left to right: Brian K. Skinner, President of TowneBank Peninsula/Williamsburg; Law School Dean Davison M. Douglas; Tessa Tilton J.D. '19; Derek Trott '18, Betsy Anderson; and Business School Dean Larry Pulley. Photo by David F. Morrill
Tessa Tilton J.D. ’19 from William & Mary Law School, and Derek Trott ’18 from the Mason School of Business, have been named as recipients of Alvin Anderson Scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year.
The Anderson Scholars program, which began in 2010, honors the contributions of the late Alvin P. Anderson ’70, J.D. ’72, who was a managing partner at Kaufman & Canoles and a member of that firm’s Executive Committee.
Tilton and Trott were honored on September 16 during a reception hosted by TowneBank in Williamsburg. Anderson’s wife, Betsy HON ’15, was once again delighted to help select from a number of outstanding students whose work, she feels, mirrors the respect her late husband earned in life.
Anderson told guests that she keeps a list on her desk that reminds her of the six elements involved in gaining respect: integrity, humility, dependability, living by priorities, generosity and spirituality.
“I think Alvin did an excellent job in gaining respect, because he incorporated all of those qualities, as well as many others,” Anderson said. “And I think this year’s Anderson Scholars certainly embody those elements of gaining respect.”
Davison Douglas, Dean of the Law School, proved Anderson’s point by listing Tilton’s many accomplishments as a scholar, as a champion swimmer, and as a person. He described her as “an ideal recipient of the Alvin Anderson Scholarship.”
A native of Springfield, Mo., Tilton graduated summa cum laude (4.0 GPA) with a B.A. in government and politics, as well as minors in criminology and law & society, from Drury University. At William & Mary, she has taken on a number of leadership roles earned through highly competitive processes, including membership on the William & Mary Law Review and the Moot Court Team, and working as a teaching assistant in the Legal Practice Program.
Last summer, Tilton worked for the national security section of the United States Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. This coming summer, she will work for Holland & Knight, LLP as a summer associate doing research on national security law.
“She’s also been involved in a very interesting public service activity at the Law School, where our students have a reading group at the Williamsburg Jail, and the members of the reading group are the inmates,” Douglas said.
Dean Larry Pulley of the Mason School of Business likewise had plenty to praise about Derek Trott.
“He is a remarkable fellow; he has achieved a major in finance in the Mason School with a 3.7 GPA, all the while being another stout athlete,” Pulley said. “He is a javelin thrower; in his freshman year he was CAA [Colonial Athletic Association] Rookie of the Year and champion in the javelin; the year after that he was CAA champion.”
Trott has also had remarkable leadership opportunities that revealed poise and great leadership ability. He is the College’s representative and president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) focused on mobilizing athletes on campus for public service as well as leadership and social responsibilities. He is the first student athlete at William & Mary to be one of the national representatives of SAAC, representing the CAA.
Trott recently completed an internship at JP Morgan, and has accepted a job there after he graduates in May 2018.
Both Tilton and Trott received a $5,000 scholarship and an inscribed crystal vase.
During his 36-year career, the always civic-minded Alvin Anderson served on TowneBank’s Hampton Roads, Peninsula, and Williamsburg boards, and was a director of the Riverside Healthcare Association and a director of Hampton Roads Academy. He also was the commissioner in chancery and the commissioner of accounts for the circuit courts of the City of Williamsburg and James City County.
Anderson received the William & Mary Alumni Medallion in 1998 in recognition of his professional achievements and his outstanding commitment to his alma mater, and also served as a member of the College’s Board of Visitors, as a trustee of the Law School Foundation, and as president of the Alumni Association.
Betsy Anderson has served as president of the William & Mary Alumni Association (2008–09) and is a trustee of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law Foundation (2011–present).
About William & Mary Law School
Thomas Jefferson founded William & Mary Law School in 1779 to train leaders for the new nation. Now in its third century, America's oldest law school continues its historic mission of educating citizen lawyers who are prepared both to lead and to serve.