UA Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law students, Daina Rodriguez and Madison Pitts, attended the Ms. JD’s National Women’s Law Students Organization (NWLSO) Leadership Academy on Sept. 22 and 23, at Harvard Law School. Female law students must apply to participate, and Rodriguez and Pitts were two of 50 law students (from hundreds of applicants) selected by Ms. JD to attend.
Speakers at the Academy included women and men at the top of their fields in law, business, and marketing. “We came home with tools to help all our colleagues and fellow students,” said Rodriguez.
“Meeting female law students who are doing great things in their law school and community was a privilege,” said Pitts. “Daina and I are honored to have been included in the group.”
The students learned the economic advantages to a diverse workplace, including an increase in production, more creativity, and even a larger bottom line. “Therefore, we should not look at gender, race, sexual orientation, etc. as marks against us when we are out in the workforce,” said Pitts. “Rather, we should look at such qualities as assets: not only to ourselves but to our future employers.”
The purpose of the Academy is to “enhance [applicants’] national law school network, equip [them] with tools necessary for professional development, and will generally provide opportunities that would not have existed otherwise.” Both women agree.
“In speaking with other students, we learned that not every school puts a value on this professional development,” said Rodriguez. “Madison and I are proud to be Bowen students and honored have had this opportunity.”
