Alumna named to Belize Supreme Court

July 2006. The University today presented the award of Alumna of the year to Justice Michelle Arana, graduate of the School's prestigious LLM in Commercial Law programme.

Belizean Supreme Court Justice Michelle Arana, class of 1989

The first female named to the Supreme Court of Belize is a graduate of Ball State University.

Michelle Arana, a 1989 honors graduate in English, was named to this prestigious post early in 2006. She had previously served as Registrar General and Registrar of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of

Belize

Arana credits her Ball State advisor, Dr. Daryl Adrian, for his important encouragement to embark on the honors program curriculum, saying " I will always be grateful to Dr. Adrian for motivating and inspiring me." She completed the LLM in Commercial Law at the University of Birmingham, Alabama and was named that institution's alumna of the year in 2006.

Arana retains many happy memories of Ball State, its "strong and vibrant international student body" and the annual International Festival of music, dancing and foods from other lands.

While in Muncie, Arana roomed in Mysch Hall with another Belizean student, Michelle (Lindo) Longsworth(BS '89), now head of the Information Technology and Electronic Governance Unit for the Belize government.

Balancing her legal duties and parenting her teenage son are challenge, says Arana. "Ours is an increasingly litigious society and the volume of cases rises on a daily basis."