It’s almost Christmas time and that means one thing in bustling high schools: college applications due and headaches about future plans. There is no shortage of students at our high school who want to pursue a career in law. Sophomore Kearra Austin aspires to attend law school after college. She joins the flow of female students who turn down the path of law. Unsurprisingly, admissions have seen a steady increase of female students in the last few years— almost 53.39% of students in ABA-approved law schools are women. 

Like many others, Austin’s passion flows from early childhood experiences. She states, “growing up I was in and out of CYS. I always felt that since I dealt with it 24/7 when I was younger, that it would be fun to help kids that are stuck in that situation;” she has taken a negative experience in her life and turned it into a passion. Since she was a young girl, she has wanted to attend Yale or Havard because they are the best schools for law. 

Austin has focused on taking a variety of social studies and law classes to prepare for further schooling. Next semester she takes Criminal and Civil Law. In social studies teacher Brad Neal’s incoming class of Criminal and Civil Law 12 out of the 20 students are female. Neal says, “The class allows you to look more in-depth into law and what is involved in becoming a lawyer and what to expect of the career.”

Admirably, Austin would like to, “help kids go to the home that they actually deserve instead of being stuck with a parent they do not want to be with.” She is a strong, intelligent, independent, and focused young woman who will be a shining addition to the growing law school community.