Jack Schlossberg Says It ‘Feels Great’ to Have Passed New York State Bar Exam on First Try (Exclusive)

Schlossberg's uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., famously struggled to pass the New York bar exam, succeeding on his third try in 1990

Jack Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy and only grandson of President John F. Kennedy, was all smiles Sunday when asked about passing the New York State Bar Exam on his first try earlier this year.

“It feels great,” he told PEOPLE as he arrived at the annual Profile in Courage award ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. “Thank you.”

Although he arrived before his family (in a black pickup truck, with a surfboard and paddle board strapped onto his truck rack), Jack, 30, entered the library at 5 p.m. with his mom, Caroline, his father, Ed Schlossberg, and his older sister, Tatiana Schlossberg. They each laughed when he was asked about passing the bar.

Jack followed in his family members' footsteps with the recent accomplishment. His mother, now the U.S. ambassador to Australia, passed the New York bar exam in 1989. His uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., famously failed the New York bar exam twice before ultimately passing on his third try in 1990.

Related: Jack Schlossberg, JFK's Grandson, Hops on a Paddleboard in N.Y.C. to Celebrate Passing the Bar Exam

Rose Schlossberg — Jack’s 35-year-old sister and a Jackie Kennedy Onassis lookalike — did not attend the ceremony. Rose lives in California's Ojai Valley with her wife, restaurant owner Rory McAuliffe.

The Profile in Courage gala is usually held in May, but the JFK Library Foundation (in conjunction with the German and Irish governments) planned various events in the spring to mark the 60th anniversary of the former president’s visits to those countries, so it was postponed until the fall.

Sunday's honorees were five South Carolina “sister senators” — Penry Gustafson, Margie Bright Matthews, Mia McLeod, Sandy Senn, and Katrina Shealy — who in April formed a bipartisan coalition to filibuster a near-total abortion ban in their state.

Also receiving awards were South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who have been working together to improve relations between their two countries and to increase trilateral cooperation with the U.S.

The foreign president and prime minister did not attend the event (pre-recorded video messages from the two leaders were played for guests), but representatives for them — Jae-hui Kim, consul general of the Republic of Korea in Boston for Yeol, and Hounding Cho, South Korean ambassador to the U.S. for Kim — accepted the awards on their behalf.

Related: Jack Schlossberg, JFK’s Grandson, Slams Cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: ‘An Embarrassment’

Nearly 400 people — including General Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff; Stephen Breyer, former Supreme Court justice; and David Letterman and his wife, Regina Lasko, who is close friends with Caroline Kennedy — attended the dinner and awards ceremony, which is held annually to “honor public servants who have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences,” according to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Jack, who looked tan and relaxed, wore a black suit, white button-down shirt and thin black tie. He was seated between Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and South Carolina state Sen. Shealy (one of the award recipients) during dinner. Between the meal and ceremony, he mingled with guests, including a couple of cousins from the Kennedy side of the family.

Related: Caroline Kennedy on Son Jack Schlossberg’s Criticism of Cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: ‘It’s Not Complicated’

Before introducing the South Carolina lawmakers, Schlossberg took to the podium and said: “Hi, I’m Jack,” then joked, “I’ve been working for my mom for about 30 years.”

He praised his dad, calling him “the man,” as well as his mom, suggesting that “doctors need to analyze [her]” to figure out how she has all of the energy she does and “how she does it all." He also addressed Tatiana, saying, “I’m so lucky to have such a great sister.”

Jack then shared kind words about his grandfather, former President Kennedy, whom he said lived a life of public service and of courage.

“Courage was the quality that he admired most, and he believed that at its best, America was a country that did things not because they were easy, but because they were hard,” he said. “Well tonight we’re celebrating the political courage of five representatives who put the national interest above their own political interest to do what was right.”

He continued: “The sister senators here tonight did not do what was easy. They did what was really hard, but they did it for the people of their state."

In an April Instagram post, Schlossberg announced that he had passed the New York State bar exam. He included a celebratory photo of himself in New York City paddle boarding on the Hudson River, as well as a section of a letter from the New York State Board of Law Examiners (dated April 21, 2023) congratulating him on passing the exam.

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A 2015 Yale University graduate, Schlossberg entered Harvard Law School in the fall of 2017 and Harvard Business School in the fall of 2018. He graduated in 2022 with both a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration.

In addition to his involvement with the Profile in Courage Award Committee, Schlossberg has been more visible in the political arena in recent years, speaking in support of President Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention in 2020 and, in July, speaking out against his uncle, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid, calling it “an embarrassment.”

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