Zahriah Balentine
Staff Writer/MC301
The future of lawyers is looking pretty strong in Jackson, Miss. Jackson State University students and high schoolers with a desire for becoming lawyers and attending law school, gathered for some valuable advice from successful attorneys on March 19. The “My Life as a Lawyer” event was held on the campus of Jackson State University in the Student Center Theater.
Hosted by the Department of Political Science, the mission of the event was to invite successful attorneys to talk and interact with students about their journey from JSU to law school and their transition into being professional lawyers.
There were six JSU alumni attorneys at the panel including Benchmark Litigation’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers member, Orlando R. Richmond, Sr. and Judge Carlton Reeves. The discussion topics ranged from the law school administration test to branding and representing yourself appropriately on social media.
Sharron Bridges, coordinator of My Life as a Lawyer and political science professor at JSU explained her hopes for students attending the event.
“I want the students to realize that they can go anywhere they want. They have what it takes just like these presenters who graduated from Jackson State. Some five years ago, ten, and even fifteen years ago, trying to get a degree. Most of them were political science majors. They were able to complete their undergraduate degree and move on to the law school of their choice and now are all very successful in their careers,” said Bridges.
Judge Reeves, who currently serves in the United States Southern Division and was the appointee of President Barack Obama, recalled his days in the Political Science department at JSU.
“I am a firm leader that every student, as far as an African-American persuasion, should start off at an HBCU. I just believe that because we have been inspired by people. There were dedicated people in that Political Science department who cared so much about each of us,” said Judge Reeves.
He continued, “It started here at Jackson State. There were people who loved us, who pushed us, who opened opportunities up for us, scholarships and things to apply for. You need to be doing this if you want to better yourself. They challenged us. Telling us that we could be whatever we wanted to be,” said Reeves.
Briana Maddox, a junior political science major from Hattiesburg, Miss., was inspired by the words of Attorney Dennis Sweet, IV.
“A key thing Attorney Sweet said that stuck out to me is that besides being an attorney, you should also be an advocate for your community. Also, being black you are either a social engineer or leech. We should all strive to be a social engineers and change our community and give back,” said Maddox.
Kahlil Morris, a senior criminal justice major from Atlanta Ga., is looking forward to starting his journey into law school. He expressed how this event was very informative and inspiring.
“My experience at this event was great. The wealth of knowledge that the panel provided was something that you cannot experience anywhere else and to top it off, I feel like it was so great because they took time out of their day to do this and you can tell that they have a real passion behind it. They have a real love and connection to help the next generation to grow up. To see them doing what they’re doing as African-Americans is just amazing,” said Morris.
