Student Snapshot
Education: Elon University, BA in Psychology and Human Service Studies. At BC Law: Editor in Chief, Boston College Law Review; Co-president, Black Law Students Association; Plaintiffs’ Law Association; BC Law Impact Blog, Student Writer; Public Interest Law Foundation. What Instantly Improves Her Mood: “A taro boba tea.” Object Friends Most Associate with Her: “A potato.”
I spent years studying psychology, social work, and human trafficking research before I understood how directly the law structures people’s lives. During my junior year at Elon University, we spent the bulk of a social policy class discussing how laws structure socioeconomic systems like housing vouchers and welfare benefits, and it was the first time I saw the tangible connection between social work and the law.
At the same time, I was interviewing survivors of human trafficking and studying exploitation through a psychological lens. As I interviewed survivors, I learned that larger systems like racism and poverty contribute to victimhood more so than individual factors, and as my research developed, I began to explore professional means of combating these very systems of oppression.
That growing interest in structural advocacy eventually led me to a civil rights and employment law firm, where I worked as a paralegal for three years before coming to BC Law. Working at a civil rights law firm allowed me to speak to potential and current clients who had faced discrimination or illegal workplace practices, and those experiences fundamentally shaped the way I think about institutional power. All my experiences, but particularly my paralegal work, solidified the notion for me that systems which perpetuate oppression are not “broken,” as is so commonly recited, but rather operate exactly as intended.
At BC Law, I found community through the Black Law Students Association, where I later served as co-president. The community at BC is the reason I loved my time here, and I have found some of my best friends in law school because of it. That same spirit of collaboration shaped my experience as co-editor in chief of the Boston College Law Review, where I learned how important flexibility, communication, and trust are within collaborative work.
As a judicial intern in the District of Columbia Superior Court, I observed criminal trial proceedings and gained insight into advocacy from the bench. Throughout all of my campus and professional experiences, I’ve striven to understand people, listen more than interjecting my own biases, and remain receptive to different perspectives.