DIVERSITY AT PENN LAW

Lycia Grant '07

I don't necessarily fit the mold of your typical law school student. I had been out of school for four years and had already worked in two different fields (marketing and law) in both the U.S. and France. I wanted to find a law school that was diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and gender. It is well known that most law schools are not very diverse and as a biracial woman, I wanted to make sure I found an environment in which I would be comfortable sharing my experiences and learning from the experiences of others.

I quickly dismissed these fears even before the school year started. From the messages on the admitted students' discussion board, I could tell the students who made up Penn Law Class of 2009 were a diverse group who knew the meaning of collegiality and working together. Students were from various regions of the country, with different religious backgrounds, family situations and a number of different ethnicities. I knew that with students from such different backgrounds, class discussions would be interesting and that I would learn not only from the professors but from my classmates.

The current students were also very welcoming. Over the summer, various members of BLSA reached out to me. Interestingly enough, they not only talked about BLSA run activities but the activities held with other student support groups. It was important for me that the different groups work together - I didn't want to feel as though I was pigeon-holed into a specific group. With the different support groups working together I knew this would not be a problem. Over the past year, I've attended BLSA, LALSA, and Penn Law Women's Association programs. The student groups are a great way of meeting students from different classes who share your interests.

My first year has lived up to and surpassed my expectations of Penn Law. First year at any law school is a challenging period. Having a supportive diverse student body makes the year easier to survive and actually fun! Such an experience is truly one of the advantages of attending Penn Law.