What makes the Spartan spirit so special? Perhaps it’s how that spirit and affinity for Michigan State University is shared with friends and family, generation after generation.
Take Sarah Smith, for example, who is president of her family’s foundation, the Ida and Benjamin Alpert Foundation, which provides critical funding to support students and nonprofit organizations. Through the Ida and Benjamin Alpert Foundation for Myron and Doris Alpert Endowed Scholarship fund, her family has given approximately $110,000 across 25 scholarships to Spartan lawyers since 2012.
“Giving back to MSU Law supports the next generation of legal professionals by funding scholarships, programs and opportunities,” Sarah said. “It fosters a legacy of excellence and mentorship, ensuring the success of students and the MSU Law community.”
If we trace Sarah’s family tree back just over 100 years, we find spirited Spartan alumni and supporters along the way—and generations of Green and White generosity.
The family tree
It all starts with Sarah’s great-grandfather, Benjamin Alpert, who graduated from MSU Law (then Detroit College of Law) in 1914. After earning his degree, Benjamin launched his career as an attorney and eventually instilled the lawyer mindset into his son, Myron.
Myron, Sarah’s grandfather, followed in his father’s footsteps and became an attorney, after earning degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Detroit. In fact, he joined his father’s practice, and the father-son team worked alongside one another until Benjamin retired.
With a desire to support the next generation of lawyers choosing to pursue careers like he and his father, Myron established the Ida and Benjamin Alpert Foundation in 1967, named after his parents. For 45 years, Myron ran the foundation, which has supported scholarships at MSU and provided funds for nonprofit organizations and Michigan-based initiatives.
When Myron passed away in 2012, his son, Mike Smith, took the reins of the foundation alongside his wife Lynn, a proud Spartan alumna in the Class of 1979. These are Sarah’s parents. That same year, they continued the tribute tradition and established the foundation’s Myron and Doris Alpert Endowed Scholarship fund at MSU, named after Mike’s parents.
Today, the foundation gives $50,000 annually to the scholarship fund to directly support second- and third-year Spartan law students.
In 2023, Sarah’s father passed the torch to her to become president of the foundation and continue her family’s legacy of generosity.
“My role involves managing donor relations with the various nonprofits that we support, she explained. “Looking ahead, I hope [the foundation] continues to inspire future generations of legal professionals, fostering excellence, leadership and a commitment to giving back to their communities.”
Sarah also has sibling support from her brother, Brian. He graduated from MSU in 2014—exactly 100 years after their great-grandfather Benjamin. Brian manages the financial operations and has expanded the foundation’s assets thanks to his experience owning Dynamic Wealth Solutions, a wealth management company.
“His efforts have been instrumental in enabling us to continue supporting MSU and the many other initiatives close to our hearts,” Sarah said.
A lasting impact
Through their generations of generosity, Sarah’s family has helped numerous Spartan lawyers excel from classroom to courtroom. Across the board, student recipients say the scholarship has had a profound impact on their journey, alleviating financial stress, allowing them to excel as Spartan lawyers and inspiring them to pay this support forward.
“To receive this scholarship has not only made me feel heard and honored by those who selected me as the recipient but also humbled by the vast generosity and support extended to me among so many other law students,” said Noel Martzolff, ’25.
After graduation this spring, Noel plans to stay in southeast Michigan and hopes to work at a boutique estate planning law firm. “I am passionate about helping the elderly and those who need guidance through difficult decisions that many of us will eventually face,” she explained, “particularly in the area where I was born and raised.”
Another student expressed how the scholarship truly means everything to them. “It is incredibly difficult to put into words how much this scholarship helps and how incredible it feels to be selected for this gift. It allows me to go into the hardest period of law school, studying for the bar, without worrying about getting groceries, making rent, or trying to work while studying.”
This student hopes to use their education and this scholarship to be a successful and honorable attorney. “This education allows us to help people in some of their most difficult hours and I intend on helping as many people as I can.”
Alexandria Peralta, ’26, shared how the cost of law school nearly deterred her from applying, but the scholarship has provided her with the financial security to follow her dreams. “I am grateful to have received this scholarship, and it means a lot to me that there is someone who cares about helping individuals reach their educational goals.”
With her eye to the future too, she added, “I want to have my own law office and be financially successful so that one day I may also give back to a law student who is seeking the same opportunity that I once was looking for.”
With examples like that of Sarah’s family, it’s easy to see how generations of generosity can flourish and indeed create a lasting impact for Spartans.