The NBLSA and Lewis & Clark host middle schoolers for a day of action

The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) and Lewis & Clark Law School, in association with discoverlaw.org, hosted 80 middle school students from St. Andrew Nativity School for a day of activities meant to introduce the children to the law as a career.

Lewis & Clark Law Black Law Students Association (BLSA) board members Brandon Kline, Anthony Blake, Josh Volvovic, Michelle Stowers, and Andrea Thompson, together with Lewis & Clark NBLSA board member Royce Williams, organized the day’s events.

To begin, the middle school students learned about the importance of writing personal statements for college admission. After NBLSA volunteers guided the group through an example and suggested what the students might write about themselves, the middle schoolers drafted their own personal statements. NBLSA volunteers gave them immediate feedback.

Lunch—a buffet in the college’s cafeteria—was a big hit. While eating, the St. Andrew Nativity School students got to ask the volunteers about their lives as law students.

In another activity, J.B. Kim, Lewis & Clark Law School’s assistant dean of diversity and academic resources, led the middle schoolers through a legal writing exercise. Students were given details about a custody dispute and asked to write a letter advising their “client” on his chances of gaining custody. The volunteers worked closely with the students, explaining the legal matters and statutes surrounding custody.

The middle school students were animated and engaged throughout the day, and everyone appeared sad to see the event come to a close. One group of students didn’t want to leave at all. “This place is magical!” they said.