GENEVIEVE WHITAKER

Assistant Professor
Criminal Justice Program (UVI)
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UVI’S FOURTH ANNUAL LAW SCHOOL AWARENESS FAIR

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March 22, 2010
(St. Croix Campus)
“Preparing for Law School”

I was honored today, March 22, 2010, to share the journey of my legal career with the high
school and college students who were in attendance at today's Law School Awareness Fair at
UVI. I began by stating who I am, that I am Judicial Law Clerk and that I teach part-time at UVI
(Criminal Justice Program). I expressed to the students my interest in law which began at the
age of 10 when I was chosen to serve at the town attorney for a mock town as part of a very
creative activity put together by the teachers of my 6th grade class at the SouthLake
Elementary School in Gaithersburg, MD. I continued to pursue my interest in law, and at the
age of 15, I asked my grandmother to take me to downtown Christiansted so that I could speak
to someone at the VI Bar Association. My grandmother dropped me by the office and told me
to call her when I was ready. I spoke to the Executive Director at that time and expressed to her
my desire to become an attorney and that I was interested in volunteering my time. Soon
thereafter, I began volunteering at the VI Bar. In my senior year of high school, I approached
the school administration (St. Croix Educational Complex), namely the Principal and asked him if

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I could intern at an attorney’s office as part of the school’s co-operative, school-to-work
program. The Principal agreed and I interned at an attorney’s office during my last semester of
high school. I then attended the University of Tampa, where I majored in Political Science and
took courses in International studies/affairs. Through the study of international affairs, I took a
course in international law and from there my interest in human rights was sparked. I told the
students that I took the initiative to go downtown Tampa afterschool one day after researching
the names and locations of the various law firms in the area (I was connected to one of the
firms through a very dear friend who is like a sister to me). I approached the various firms,
namely, speaking to the hiring managers, expressing that I was interested in pursuing a career
in law and that I was willing to volunteer. (Note: I carried my resume during all of my
appointments). One of the firms gladly accepted me and I had one of the greatest experiences
in my life in that through that experience one of the partners of the firm provided me with key
insight into the field of law, telling me to do what makes me happy by pursuing a field of law
that I am passionate about. I discussed my law school journey, expressing to students that
joined a number of national as a student members, namely the American Bar Association (ABA)
becoming activity involved by attending meetings seeking out mentors and networking
opportunities (Note: I was an ABA student leader, serving in various national capacities and I
was candidate with the support of my law school for the ABA Student Division Chair).

My fellow panelists, who presented before me, discussed the importance of grades and how to
prepare for the LSAT and so I reemphasized the importance of grades adding that
extracurricular activity is important as volunteerism helps to shape character and the type of
character that is needed within the profession. I expressed other items, namely, the high costs
associated with law school, expressing the fact that state schools' tuition is much lower than
that of the private schools/universities. I told the students to make it a priority, for those who
have to take loans, to seek loan companies that will not turn out to be "loan sharks." I told the
students about the importance of mentorship, that you never have enough mentors, citing the
fact that I had several unofficial academic counselors during undergrad and I networked with
various attorneys throughout my law school career, many of whom mentor me to this day. I
discussed the legal pathways, i.e., that that there are many uses of the law degree, providing
them the following examples: professorship, serving as a legislator, legal counsel to a
senator/legislator, litigation (plaintiff’s counsel; defense counsel) and others. I also expressed
the need for more senators with legal backgrounds.

In sum, I told the students that they first need to ask themselves why they want to be an
attorney and that it is not too early to begin thinking about which field of law they plan on
pursuing. I provided them with an example, that if you decided to pursue a career as patent
attorney in order to sit for the patent attorney exam you must have had a scientific background
to sit the patent exam. Also, I expressed that it is not about how much money you will make as
an attorney, rather it is important that you become a lawyer because you intend on serving
others. For More Info. on preparing for law school go to www.lsac.org.