Currently a legal recruiter in Washington, D.C., Jane has had a distinguished career in law for more than two decades. She began her career in law after her first career as a systems engineer for Bell Labs. She says, “After time in math and engineering, I realized I wanted to be on the social/legal side of society,” pointing to a number of family members who had careers in law as her inspiration. Her maternal grandfather in Ireland had been a law clerk for 61 years and one of her maternal grand uncles also served as a clerk of the county court for much of his career.
Jane eventually blended her legal and engineering interests working as a technology lawyer helping companies buy technology. One of her clients was XM Satellite Radio and she helped them buy their technology like the satellites, launch services, and terrestrial network. That was one of her most fun projects and clients.
Jane points to St. Catharine’s as a strong foundation for her many accomplishments. “St. Catharine’s was a very nurturing environment that also held us to high standards,” she says. “It expected a lot of us, but also nurtured our growth. On top of that, they really laid down some great fundamentals that helped us be successful. They helped us realize that we could strive and be more than who we were.”
A scholarship student at St. Catharine’s, Jane attended the College of the Holy Cross. She continued her studies with a graduate fellowship overseas at Melbourne University and then earned a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Brown University. Years later, Jane went on to study law, earning her degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
She says although her higher education was focused on engineering and mathematics, many have thought she was an English major. “That goes back to the foundations they gave us at St. Catharine’s. They prepared us in every subject. Likewise, in our faith, they nurtured us in every way.”