Significant Sigma Kappa
Cynthia Morikone, Epsilon Lambda, California State University, Sacramento
(November 25, 1976 - April 28, 2010)
Cynthia was living out a promising career as a lawyer, crusading against domestic abuse and seeing her clients as people rather than just "cases." She earned her law degree at Georgetown University in Washington in 2004. She studied under Supreme court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who led her summer course on fundamental rights in Europe and America though McGeorge School of Law.
She spent a year as a teaching assistant at Harvard Law School before going to work representing misdemeanor suspects for the Sacramento County Public Defender's Office. She joined the California Parole Advocacy Program (CPAP) at McGeorge in 2007 as an attorney for former prison inmates facing revocation of parole. For the last two years, she also supervised staff lawyers while representing parolees at a CPAP office in Dublin. "She put her heart into helping people," said her father, Abraham Morikone. "I told her she shouldn't work so hard, but I was proud of how committed she felt to her job." Family and friends remembered Ms. Morikone as a tireless advocate who spent long hours preparing for parole hearings.
Her work often went beyond professional matters to help clients resolve personal problems. "She had a lot of compassion," Sacramento County Assistant Public Defender Sunny Paley said. "One of our clients had a child who passed away, and Cyndi went to great efforts to ensure she could attend the funeral." [excerpt from The Sacramento Bee] Read more here.
"I was her 'Big' and I always said, she should have been mine. I am so proud of her and everything that she did in her life. She was so amazing."
-Jocelyn Tyler, Epsilon Lambda, California State University, Sacramento
"I met Cyndi through Sigma Kappa. She was responsible for me joining and was my first heart sister. She was such a sweet, kind and mature woman. . .I can't thank her enough for welcoming me to her sorority. I wouldn't be the person I am today without her introduction. She holds a special place in my heart."
- Christina Daubeneck-Martin, Epsilon Lambda, California State University, Sacramento
