February 29, 2024

Legal Minds, Lifelong Skills: How Law Students Guide High Schoolers Towards Success

Written By: Carol Tognetti, 2L, and Natalia Zepeda, 2L

Joining the Street Law Clinic last fall was not just another law class but a transformative experience that helped build our legal skills while serving a critical need in the local community. As part of the Street Law Clinic, we taught life skills lessons at the New Village Girls Academy. New Village is an all-girls public school located near Southwestern Law School. Many of their students have dealt with challenges such as pregnancy, violence, foster care poverty, and involvement in the juvenile justice system. During the Street Law Clinic, we visited once a week for ten weeks. We taught students valuable lessons, including criminal law, employment, health and healthy relationships, education, knowing your constitutional rights, and housing law. 

The New Village students were interested in these topics and dove into the lessons and activities. They were engaged and curious about all the new information they were learning. It was extremely gratifying and humbling to have such a positive influence on the lives of these students in the weeks we were together. Their homeroom teacher told us how excited the girls were about what they were learning and how they looked forward to our weekly visits. During our time with the students, we had the opportunity to meet with them one-on-one to find out what legal information they needed and guide them as they transition to adulthood. On our last visit, we gave each student a binder that we compiled for them with all the lessons we taught and legal resources on different subjects. Handing each student their binders on the last day of classes was the most rewarding part because of how excited the students were and knowing that they could refer to the information we taught in the future. 

Throughout the experience teaching at New Village, we acquired skills to explain the law and began to understand our program's impact on the community. Being of service and a resource to your community is an invaluable lesson. One example of our impact was when one student shared that they had no idea about the law or legal system before our visits. But now, because of the class, they discovered a newfound passion and determination to pursue a legal career. This revelation was particularly inspiring, considering the underrepresentation of Latinas in the legal profession. It resonated with us as teachers and served as a beacon of encouragement for her peers, demonstrating that they, too, could pursue traditionally underrepresented careers in their community.  

Our commitment to providing legal knowledge acquired at Southwestern to these students goes beyond the altruistic act of service. It contributes to the empowerment of our community, equipping students with the tools they need to navigate college applications, job interviews, and even routine encounters with the police. By arming our community with knowledge, we collectively rise, creating stronger, more informed, and closely-knit communities that understand how to advocate and seek justice when needed. This, fundamentally, was the overarching goal of Street Law — to foster a community that thrives on shared knowledge, empowerment, and the pursuit of justice.