Busy attorney finds time to volunteer

Gratitude is what drives Brian D. Kent, AS ’00, to find time in his busy professional schedule to stay connected to his alma mater, and he says it was his appreciation for the way UD shaped his life that initially prompted him to volunteer as an alumni coordinator.

“Delaware has done so much for me in both my personal and professional life,” says Kent, who started volunteering as the Philadelphia alumni club coordinator and then also joined the UD Alumni Association Board, where he helps review scholarship applications from both undergraduate and graduate students.

“The friends I gained while there are still my best friends, and the times that I had will never be matched. I want other people to see everything that Delaware has to offer and experience what I experienced, and I think alumni support goes hand in hand with that.”

After graduating from UD, Kent headed to Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. From there, he worked as a clerk for a federal judge in the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Croix.

When he returned to the States, Kent accepted a job as a prosecutor for the district attorney’s office in Montgomery County, Pa., where he spent nearly four years prosecuting sex crimes and homicide cases. He joined the private firm of Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett and Bendesky in 2007, representing victims of catastrophic injuries stemming from product defects and construction accidents.

“Delaware helped shape the type of person I am today and the type of lawyer I am as well. The professors and staff at Delaware truly cared about my success and helped me try to achieve it every step of the way,” he says. “I think UD really caters to the personal needs of students, and the success of its alumni is evidence of that.”

In addition to his professional obligations, Kent also serves as the coach for the Temple law school’s national trial team. He co-chairs the American Ireland Fund’s Young Leaders of Philadelphia, a charitable organization made up of Irish-Americans dedicated to supporting programs of peace and reconciliation throughout the island of Ireland. And, in his free time, he is an avid triathlete.

Still, he says, he wanted to make room for UD in his schedule: “I felt that because Delaware has done so much for me, the least I could do is to give a little back.”

The Philly club that he organizes is “very extensive,” Kent says, with many of its members lawyers, doctors and accountants, dispelling the myth that Philadelphia has experienced a “brain drain” or a loss of young professionals to larger cities.

“I think the opposite is true nowadays,” Kent says. “CNN called Philadelphia recently the next great city. It has so much to offer that more and more students are sticking around.”

Through networking at popular events such as UD President Patrick Harker’s visit, Kent passes his enthusiasm for alumni dedication on to his fellow Blue Hens.

“I would encourage as many alumni to get involved in any way possible. UD shapes every person that attends the school, and people are who they are, in some capacity at least, because of UD,” he says. “I think everyone should give a little back and want to see the continued success of the school.”

Philadelphia area alumni are invited to the club's next event on Thursday, Aug. 21, when the group will attend the Phillies game. For information or to register, visit [www.UDconnection.com]

—Laura Overturf Stetser, AS ’99