By Ann W. Parks

A spirited entry in February’s Love of Chocolate event.

It may not be the most prestigious prize they’ll ever win, but this month, nine members of the Georgetown Law community received top honors by demonstrating an otherwise undervalued skill — the ability to create something delicious out of chocolate.

Christina Calce (L’10); Rachel O’Connor (L’10), Stacy Carmichael, John Nader (L’10); Julia Cianfarini (L’08); Caryn Voland; Sean Doran (L’09); Ben Berkman; and David Barzelay (L’08) beat out 26 other contestants in the February 13 “For the Love of Chocolate” fundraiser, sponsored by the Office of Student Life, the Human Rights Institute, Amnesty International and the Professional Development Committee.

The winners showed off their culinary skills by creating such decadent concoctions as “Dark Chocolate Truffle Cookies,” “Really Good, Rich, Sweet, Delicious Fudge,” and “Inside-out German Chocolate Cake.” For a $5.00 donation, Law Center students could sample all they wanted of the 35 official entries, and seven volunteer judges were on hand to decide the winners.

The advantage of being a judge (obviously!) was “having a completely legitimate excuse to eat copious amounts of chocolate,” according to Lauren Torbett (L’09).  This sentiment was echoed by Niloufar Khonsari (L’09), who says she would love to be a chocolatier one day (if the lawyer thing doesn’t work out).

The judges also got to participate in a very worthy cause — raising money for the Bettina Pruckmayr Award. Named for a 1994 Georgetown Law graduate and public interest attorney who was murdered during a mugging in 1995, the Pruckmayr Award is presented annually to a graduating J.D. student with a demonstrated interest in and commitment to international human rights work. Each year, the Love of Chocolate event raises money towards the award (this year, $1000) so that a student pursuing human rights work may find his or her job just a little bit easier.

Why a chocolate competition? The fundraiser, which originally began as a bake-off, has developed into a themed event that usually happens every February — “in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, because it works out well,” says Katie Michaels, manager of scheduling and programs in the Office of Student Life. “We’ve also done a Mardi Gras theme; we try to change it based on the time of year that it falls.”

Now that the money has been raised, the Human Rights Institute will begin the process of choosing the recipient of the Pruckmayr Award. Any member of the Law Center community may submit a nomination, which should be received by the Human Rights Institute by Friday, March 14.

Students sample the various entries.

A committee, which typically consists of representatives from the Institute, the Office of Student Life, the Office of Public Interest and Community Service, and others, will review the nominations and choose a winner.

What is the committee looking for? “People who have really committed themselves in the entire walk of their life to human interest, in the work they are looking to do beyond law school, in their student group work here on campus, in their work prior to law school, in their coursework,” Michaels said. “Basically, we want to present an annual monetary award to a student who will continue Bettina’s efforts towards the realization of international human rights.”

Rachel S. Taylor, deputy director of the Human Rights Institute, noted that it is important to be able to honor the students who come to Georgetown Law to study human rights while continuing to honor Pruckmayr’s legacy. Pruckmayr, who served as the director of the International Criminal Court Project of the World Federalist Association at the time of her death, did significant public interest work while a student at the Law Center; served as chairperson of the Georgetown chapter of Amnesty International and co-founded the German American Law Students Association, among other things.

“It’s honoring someone who stands for what she stood for,” Taylor said of the Pruckmayr Award.

And the annual chocolate event, of course, is always a fun opportunity for the community — an all-you-can-eat afternoon study break. “Our strategy is to cut everything into very small pieces,” Michaels says, when asked how students are able to make and consume that much chocolate.  “Everyone really comes out of the woodwork and puts forth a great effort to contribute delicious creations.”