Law Schools

10 Reasons To Attend Law School From Rising 1L Students Throughout America

If you would like to read the essays in their entirety and help select the $10,000 winner, you can do so here.

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“What’s free? / Free is when nobody else could tell us what to be / Free is when the TV ain’t controlling what we see.” — Meek Mill

Do you remember why you decided to apply and enroll in law school?

If you’re currently attending law school, do you need an inspirational reminder of why you sacrificed three years of your life to such intense study? If you’re an attorney, are you leveraging your degree in the ways in which you had hoped for at this point in time?

Today, BARBRI Law Preview announced the Top 10 Finalists for its 4th annual One Lawyer Can Change the World Scholarship. The $10,000 scholarship competition challenged students from across the country to submit a 500-word essay in response to the prompt:

“How you hope to use your law degree to change our world and how would $10,000 towards your 1L tuition change your world?” 

The following are excerpts from the 10 Finalists who will be attending Berkeley, Brooklyn, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, Loyola-Chicago, University of Chicago, UMass Dartmouth, University of Michigan and Washington University law schools in the fall:

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  1. I hope to continue fighting for survivors of domestic and sexual violence after graduating from law school. I am inspired the lawyers from my home country, like Asma Jahangir, who used their legal knowledge to support victims in the face of oppressors. My current position is pivotal, but after working with hundreds of survivors, I feel I can be an even better advocate as an attorney. I want my impact to go beyond protective order hearings, support groups, and evidence collection exams. These things are imperative, but I believe I can have a greater impact as an attorney. The law will provide me with the tools I need to continue my work. I would like to transition into legislative work and advocate for change on a national level. — Shiza Arshad, Rising 1L at Georgetown University Law Center

  2. My main goal and objective, above all else, is to help others. This is especially true when it comes to marginalized populations; populations like the addicts and alcoholics who are not bad people, who have made mistakes, who have a disease, and who can do better with some guidance. I want to be a voice for those whose message may sometimes get lost; overshadowed by stigma. I hope to offer not only legal counsel to these individuals, but hope for a better life and long-lasting recovery. — Daniel Buck, Rising 1L at Umass Dartmouth

  3. Essentially, I could give poor, rural kids hope that they too could grow up to be lawyers or whatever they dream of. There is a severe shortage of role models like this in poor, rural communities. If anyone does ever accomplish anything, they leave and never look back. That’s not my intention at all. One of the main reasons I want to attend Michigan Law is to still be close enough to be present in my hometown. I think this more proactive way of giving kids hope will help them break a cycle of deplorable conditions. — Thomas Cribbins, Rising 1L at University of Michigan Law School

  4. [I]n my junior year of college one lawyer changed my world. Former President Barack Obama created a new policy called DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), and my life changed overnight. DACA grants undocumented individuals who come to the U.S. as children temporary stays of deportation and U.S. work authorization. When I received my DACA, I felt free. I felt as though someone finally heard me screaming and came to my rescue. I was so grateful for DACA that I became motivated to advocate for others who felt voiceless…. I hope to use my law degree to change the world of people who feel forgotten by society.  I aim to continue to empower and lead marginalized communities toward legal and social equality and to defend others silenced by the severity of their circumstances. — Zainab Ilumoka, Rising 1L at George Washington University Law School

  5. I dream of one day being in a position to influence the law to make patent thickets illegal without sacrificing patent protection. I hope the law can be changed to encourage pharmaceutical competition and innovation instead of smothering it. Every person in the US is affected by pharmaceutical pricing and the steadily rising healthcare costs. Even the Senate committee hearing on drug pricing last month probed sharply into Humira’s patent protections as part of its questioning. Surging drug prices are sure to become a key issue in the 2020 Presidential race. — Yiwei Jiang, Rising 1L at University of Chicago Law School

  6. I promised myself that I would forge my own path and devote my life to becoming an advocate for marginalized people. The promise of this possibility — of living this mission and life — was my only comfort as I coped with my own circumstances as a low-income, first-generation immigrant. I held on to the hope that I, a girl from a village in Pakistan, will impact policy makers and create positive change in society. I will dedicate my career to representing women abused in the name of honor, children trapped in arranged marriages, victims of discrimination, and anyone whose unalienable rights are breached. A legal education will empower me with the skills and training needed to take action against these human rights violations. — Zara Khan (Pseudonym), Rising 1L at Washington University School of Law

  7. When the world shakes around me, I move to make a difference. This is the discrepancy I hope to leverage my legal education and practice to solve. I want to be an international human rights lawyer and spokesman who champions the humanity of all humans. I aspire to one day be Secretary of State of the US and introduce global human policy to the national agenda. America first rhetoric is appealing in a jingoistic framework, but it is inherently unethical when a country has the power to change the course of human events. I want to be a steward in changing that course and ensuring that all human lives are valued, and that all human deaths are treated with the same urgency internationally. — Irfan Mahmud, Rising 1L at Harvard Law School

  8. My fifteen years of experience with refugee populations in the United States, Turkey and Jordan exposed me to the geopolitical conflicts causing forced migration; religion, international politics and economic power seemed to drive the people with whom I worked from their homes…. I intend to contribute to a more just immigration system in the United States. In a career in law, I see the possibility of creating change not only for families and individuals but also for generations of people who come to the United States as immigrants. I see a career as an immigration lawyer to be the most effective way of contributing to a more just country. — Erin Martin, Rising 1L at Loyola University Chicago School of Law

  9. When my sister tested positive for the mutation, a passion was ignited deep within me and clarity was given to my lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. This was my community, the millions of people who suffer from preexisting conditions and spend too much of their time worrying about what will happen if there are not laws in place to protect them. I intend to use my law degree to interact with this community and address these legitimate fears. I believe that the law enables us to create a society in which we can and do choose to take care of those with preexisting health conditions. — Grace Tepley, Rising 1L at University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

  10. Many veterans live in NYCHA, growing up I had a friend whose uncle was a veteran of the Vietnam War, his PTSD was so pronounced that he would practice military drills every morning in front of his building – his apartment would go days at a time without heat or hot water. Recently, PIX11 profiled a veteran living in NYCHA who had raw sewage spewing out of his sink for a month. The experience of living in a NYCHA development inflicts a perpetual denial of dignity. It is unconscionable that men and women who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country in foreign lands are not given decent places to live when they return home, I want to have a role in changing this. — William White, Rising 1L at Brooklyn Law School

If you would like to read the essays in their entirety and help select the $10,000 winner, you can do so here.

On behalf of everybody here at Above the Law, I want to wish all you rising 1Ls good luck on your law school journey!

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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