Hometown: Louisville, KY
Education: University of Louisville 2016
Affiliations: Co-founder of Boalt on Break, Women of Color Collective, First Generation Professionals, Law Students of African Descent, Boalt Improv Group, Berkeley Journal of African American Law & Policy, Boalt Hall Women’s Association, Mock Trial Team, and Foster Education Project
Boalt on Break is an opportunity for Berkeley Law students to work on issues and with clients that we wouldn’t have access to in the Bay Area. For me, taking students from this elite law school out of our academic, urban bubble and into a high-needs area like Kentucky, where I’m from, was really exciting.
Over spring break, we’ll be doing direct legal services in rural Kentucky, in partnership with local organizations (including the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center and the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund) to help with wills and divorce proceedings. We’ll also be working with coal miners to help them get their black lung benefits from the federal government.Particularly in the rural communities of Kentucky, there are not enough attorneys doing this kind of work. So we’ll be helping the legal aid organizations there provide assistance to an underserved population.
I want to go back to Kentucky eventually. It’s a place that I’m really excited to show my classmates all of the promise that it has and the beauty of the state itself.