Former AHI Undergraduate Fellow Thrives at Vanderbilt Law

Anthony (Mark) Garcia, a charter member of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization (AHI) Undergraduate Fellows program,  is not only thriving at Vanderbilt Law School, but as a second year student, competed along with 140 Vanderbilt students in Vanderbilt’s Moot Court competition.  Mark advanced to the final round of the competition, and his team received the Bass, Berry, and Sims Award for its performance.

Also, in recognition of his achievements and interest in furthering intellectual discourse, Mark was voted by the Moot Court Board to serve on its managing council as an associate problem editor.  The problem editing team consists of three members, who will research and write the problem to be used for next year’s competitions.

Vanderbilt’s Moot Court competition centers on hypothetical litigation related to the First Amendment issue. This year’s issues included the intersection of the government speech doctrine and the establishment clause.  The competition required each two-person team to write a 30-page brief and participate in multiple rounds of oral arguments in front of the Moot Court Board members, Vanderbilt faculty, local practicing attorneys, and judges from both state and federal courts.

In 2010, Mark was the recipient of the AHI’s inaugural William Vick ADP/AHI internship.  The award goes to a graduating member of the Hamilton College chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity who combines academic excellence with exemplary character.  The internship honors William “Bill” Vick, a 1936 graduate of Hamilton College, who placed a high value on the sacred Constitutional right of private association and on his membership in the Hamilton chapter of ADP.  Interns receive a $2,000 summer stipend and are housed free of charge at the AHI’s headquarters.  They participate in the intellectual life of the AHI and help organize and participate in its annual summer conference, co-sponsored with the Department of Political Science at Baylor University.

“I already owe the AHI a great debt of gratitude for preparing me to succeed in the law school environment,” said Mark.  The AHI focused me on important issues of history, politics, and law that provide me with the arsenal and tools to analyze cases and express a well-informed view of the law.  I am a small example of the proud legacy of the AHI. I think of the AHI whenever Vanderbilt Law brings in a distinguished speaker. Sometimes Vandy is lucky and the speaker will stay to sign books.  Yet, it falls short of the unprecedented access to guests at those leadership lunches at the AHI.”

The AHI congratulates Mark on his impressive accomplishments.