The Alumni Spotlight highlights Georgetown Prep alumni making impacts all over the globe. Prep's 5,700 live and work all over the world in every field imaginable. The Alumni Spotlight series captures our graduates' stories and Georgetown Prep's impact on their life after their four years as a student. To submit your or a fellow alumni's story, email alumni@gprep.org.

Jan K. Seigel '64 is a trial lawyer in New Jersey. He and Judy, his wife of 48 years, are the proud parents of four children and eight grandchildren.

What have you done since graduating from Prep?

After graduating Georgetown Prep, I went on to Georgetown University and Georgetown Law. My vocation has been trial law: first as a prosecutor and then in private practice. My son and I are principals in a 10-lawyer firm in Ridgewood, New Jersey specializing in catastrophic injuries and medical malpractice. For the past few years, I have also been teaching criminal trial law in post-Soviet countries. My avocation has been coaching youth sports teams for my children and now my grandchildren.

What impact did Georgetown Prep have on you?

Georgetown Prep has just had a tremendous impact on my life. Prep, together with my father, has made me the man I am today. The foundation Prep provided, along with my father's constant plea "to apply" myself, gave me the springboard I needed to succeed in life. And not just professionally. I also learned values that I have hopefully passed on to my children and my law firm. I am proud that my law firm is a member of Pledge 1%, where we commit to donating 1% of our time and profit to charity. I try to live by the creed "to whom much is given, much is expected".

What advice do you have for current Prep students?

My advice to students at Prep today is twofold: firstly, enjoy the moment. Appreciate what you have and the sacrifices people have made for you. The going may be difficult at times, but these are also "the best of times". Secondly, never sell yourself short. I should be too embarrassed to admit this, but I graduated in the bottom 10% of my class at Prep. In the next four years I turned it around and graduated in the top 10% of my class at Georgetown. How? I listened to my father's plea to "apply myself". The point is, it is never too late to succeed, and with the foundation you are receiving at Prep, easier to do than you think. God bless!