For V&E Associate Jas Sethi, New UT Social Work Scholarship Stems from Personal Loss

Vinson & Elkins associate Jas Sethi was a second-year law student at Northwestern University when his 19-year-old sister lost her life to suicide after a yearslong battle with depression and addiction. While at first the tragedy eliminated his reason for attending law school, it helped him begin his legal career with a new sense of purpose. This upcoming school year, the University of Texas’ Steve Hicks School of Social Work will begin offering a scholarship Sethi started for students pursuing social work careers that specialize in substance misuse and recovery. Beyond honoring his sister, Sethi hopes the scholarship helps bring more social workers into the space who are energized to pursue reforms to the system he says failed her.

“I want to make it so that nobody ever has to feel like Simran did,” Sethi said. “I can’t do that all in one day, and I don’t know if I can do that at all, but the scholarship is what I can do now.”