UVI's Fourth Annual Law School Awareness Fair (My Presentation Points): Preparing for Law

School

Monday, March 22, 2010 at 11:51pm

GENEVIEVE WHITAKER
Assistant Professor
Criminal Justice Program (UVI)
__________________________________

UVI’S FOURTH ANNUAL LAW SCHOOL AWARENESS FAIR

_____________________________________
March 22, 2010
(St. Croix Campus)

I was honored today, March 22, 2010, to share the journey of my legal career with the high school and college students
who were in attendance at today's Law School Awareness Fair at UVI. I began by stating who I am, that I am Judicial Law
Clerk and that I teach part-time at UVI (Criminal Justice Program). I expressed to the students my interest in law which
began at the age of 10 when I was chosen to serve at the town attorney for a mock town as part of a very creative activity
put together by the teachers of my 6th grade class at the SouthLake Elementary School in Gaithersburg, MD. I continued to
pursue my interest in law, and at the age of 15, I asked my grandmother to take me to downtown Christiansted so that I
could speak to someone at the VI Bar Association. My grandmother dropped me by the office and told me to call her when I
was ready. I spoke to the Executive Director at that time and expressed to her my desire to become an attorney and that I
was interested in volunteering my time. Soon thereafter, I began volunteering at the VI Bar. In my senior year of high
school, I approached the school administration (St. Croix Educational Complex), namely the Principal and asked him if I
could intern at an attorney’s office as part of the school’s co-operative, school-to-work program. The Principal agreed and I
interned at an attorney’s office during my last semester of high school. I then attended the University of Tampa, where I
majored in Political Science and took courses in International studies/affairs. Through the study of international affairs, I
took a course in international law and from there my interest in human rights was sparked. I told the students that I took
the initiative to go downtown Tampa afterschool one day after researching the names and locations of the various law firms
in the area (I was connected to one of the firms through a very dear friend who is like a sister to me). I approached the
various firms, namely, speaking to the hiring managers, expressing that I was interested in pursuing a career in law and
that I was willing to volunteer. (Note: I carried my resume during all of my appointments). One of the firms gladly accepted
me and I had one of the greatest experiences in my life in that through that experience one of the partners of the firm
provided me with key insight into the field of law, telling me to do what makes me happy by pursuing a field of law that I
am passionate about.

I discussed my law school journey, expressing to students that joined a number of national as a student members, namely
the American Bar Association (ABA) becoming activity involved by attending meetings seeking out mentors and networking
opportunities (Note: I was an ABA student leader, serving in various national capacities and I was candidate with the
support of my law school for the ABA Student Division Chair).

My fellow panelists, who presented before me, discussed the importance of grades and how to prepare for the LSAT and so
I reemphasized the importance of grades adding that extracurricular activity is important as volunteerism helps to shape
character and the type of character that is needed within the profession. I expressed other items, namely, the high costs
associated with law school, expressing the fact that state schools' tuition is much lower than that of the private
schools/universities. I told the students to make it a priority, for those who have to take loans, to seek loan companies that
will not turn out to be "loan sharks." I told the students about the importance of mentorship, that you never have enough
mentors, citing the fact that I had several unofficial academic counselors during undergrad and I networked with various
attorneys throughout my law school career, many of whom mentor me to this day. I discussed the legal pathways, i.e., that
that there are many uses of the law degree, providing them the following examples: professorship, serving as a legislator,
legal counsel to a senator/legislator, litigation (plaintiff’s counsel; defense counsel) and others. I also expressed the need for
more senators with legal backgrounds.

In sum, I told the students that they first need to ask themselves why they want to be an attorney and that it is not too
early to begin thinking about which field of law they plan on pursuing. I provided them with an example, that if you decided
to pursue a career as patent attorney in order to sit for the patent attorney exam you must have had a scientific
background to sit the patent exam. Also, I expressed that it is not about how much money you will make as an attorney,
rather it is important that you become a lawyer because you intend on serving others.

****For More Info. on preparing for law school go to www.lsac.org.

Updated about 2 months ago · Comment · Like