Creighton University

Scholarship, Family Motivate Law Student

Suman Barua did not grow up in a Bangladesh mud hut like his father, or become a farm laborer like his mother, but he might have, and he well knows it.

The first-year Creighton law school student and recipient of the Frances M. Ryan Endowed Scholarship understands just how far he has come and by whose support.

“As the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, it is truly no small feat for me to be able to attend law school — let alone receive a scholarship to do so,” Barua said. “I have come to realize my general circumstances in life are largely a function of the sacrifices and accomplishments of my parents and other ancestors who came before me. The notion of toiling away on a Third World farm living in a mud hut is one that could very easily have been my reality, instead of the relative life of ease I now enjoy.”

Most law students, beset by grueling exams, class ranking pressures and ruthless Socratic questioning, do not view their lot as a “life of ease,” but Barua has a unique gift of perspective. As the only person in his family who has ever attended or graduated from college, he recognizes how his own future is rooted in his family’s past, as well as opportunities like the Ryan Scholarship.

“This awareness has motivated me to work hard, do my best and not take anything for granted,” he said. “The hardships I might endure pale in comparison to my ancestors’ trials — and the trials of Third World peoples today. Their stark reality reverberates deep within my heart. This sobering realization has kept me mindful of the things that are most important in life, while serving as motivation to achieve at the highest level I am capable of.”

Barua’s father, whose own parents had starved to death in Bangladesh, was determined to make it to America. In 1969, he settled in Utah, sent money back to his family and to his betrothed’s family and was later befriended by local Catholic priests and nuns, who helped educate him and find him a job.

“He did this for seven years before he was finally able to go back to Bangladesh, marry my mother and bring her to the States with him,” Barua said. Sadly, his father died a few years later, but not before seeing his dream realized: American-born sons with the world before them.

While Barua pays tribute to his father’s legacy, he also honors the legacy of Frances M. Ryan, in whose name generous donors established an endowed scholarship fund to enable minority students to attend Creighton’s School of Law. As Nebraska’s first tenured woman law professor, Ryan served on Creighton’s law faculty from 1973 to 1994. Ryan also helped to establish the School’s Minority Program, which encouraged African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans to enter the legal profession and advance the legal rights within minority communities. Ryan would have been proud of Barua as he carries the torch of her vision into the future.

Barua, who completed a master’s degree in molecular biology, is interested in health care law and policy, as well as patent law. Despite fielding offers from other law schools, he chose Creighton because of its “strong commitment to students,” and its emphasis on professionalism.

“We attend professional schools to learn a profession, and it would seem logical that said school actually helped us find a career in that profession,” Barua said. “Unfortunately, not all law schools carry out that directive.” The Ryan Scholarship also helped open the door to opportunities he would not have had elsewhere, he added.

Endowed scholarships remain one of the most critical ways Creighton can recruit the most talented students to the University. As permanent assets, these funds enable Creighton to prepare generations of students like Suman Barua with professional distinction, ethical leadership and conscientious citizenship. In essence, endowed scholarships represent the ultimate investment in human potential. The bottom line results in a better world for all of us.

The Campaign for Creighton University seeks $145 million for endowment support, which includes student scholarships. Endowed scholarships remain one of the most critical ways Creighton can recruit the most talented students to the University. As permanent assets, these funds enable Creighton to prepare generations of students like Suman Barua with professional distinction, ethical leadership and conscientious citizenship. In essence, endowed scholarships represent the ultimate investment in human potential. The bottom line results in a better world for all of us.

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