Law School Student Benefits from Scholarship for Veterans

Chris Torre ’20 (CLAS) joined the military because he felt a duty to serve his country and his community. He enlisted in the Air Force as a 17-year-old, and then returned to Connecticut after a year to complete his undergraduate education at UConn and serve in the Air National Guard. His journey has taken him across the country, to the Middle East, and now to the UConn School of Law, where he is a first-year student.

Torre is this year’s recipient of the Mike Callahan ’95 Family Scholarship for Veterans, established by Michael Callahan ’95 JD and his wife, Dr. Dana Weintraub, to help veterans and students who are active-duty military service members pay tuition and associated costs. Torre says he is grateful for the scholarship, which allows him to concentrate on his coursework, which he balances with his service in the National Guard.

“It’s made it a lot easier because I do not have to have to worry about my finances as much,” Torre explains. “It has taken a huge stressor off. It gave me an opportunity to just focus fully on my studies rather than worrying about how I’m going to pay for school and where I’m living.”

Torre says his military experience is also helping him with law school. His deployments to the Middle East in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and Inherent Resolve and COVID-19 contingency hospitals in Connecticut taught him valuable lessons.

“I have an ability to deal with stress,” says Torre. “When you are deployed and go through certain things, it kind of matures you a little bit. It allows you to look at things in a different light.”

In addition to his military career, Torre sees his future law career as another way to help the public.

“I want go into anti-trust law because I feel like I can continue that service to my community,” Torre says. “It’s basically consumer protection. It protects the average, everyday person from forces that have a lot more resources than them.”