Street Law Mentor Day

High school students experience life as law students

By Kalyn Norwood

Local high school students visited USC Gould for the annual “Street Law Mentor Day” recently, part of a program connecting law students with local youth to teach them how law relates to their lives. The teens heard from law students, attorneys, faculty members and the USC undergraduate admissions office. Street Law is one of several dozen USC Gould law student organizations.

“One goal of Street Law is motivating the kids to go to college and think about law school,” said Jordan Parr ’15, president of Street Law. “When we can actually bring [students] to USC, I feel that they get a more hands on view of what law school may be like.”

Prof. Donald Scotten teaches students at Mentor Day

Throughout the school year USC Gould students visit the students in their high schools and teach lessons on various fundamental legal topics. This year Street Law is working with South East High School in South Gate and New Designs Charter School in Los Angeles.

According to Parr, one of the best parts about Mentor Day is the chance to take high schoolers out of their traditional environments and bring them to USC.

“Some of the students actually wanted to go to another high school until they came to mentor day,” said Said Dibinga, a teacher at New Designs Charter School. “Then, they realized the other high schools don’t have a relationship with USC Gould, so they wanted to stay here because of the program.”

This year, Street Law received the support of Sheppard Mullin.  The firm donated funds and provided attorneys to speak about their experiences as lawyers.

For many of the kids, this day marked the first time they had ever been on a college campus. As a whole, students felt they learned valuable information, especially from their mentors.

“It’s really nice getting to know what it’s like to be in college and talking to people who have experience in it because [law] is something I want to do in the future,” said Kate Alvarado, a ninth-grader.

The high school teachers enjoyed how well the law students interacted with the teens and were impressed by how their students actively participated throughout the day. All of the students had lunch together, providing opportunities to discuss the events of the day. In addition, the law students taught mini lectures to provide a sense of the college experience.

USC Gould students speak at Street Law Mentor Day.

“South Gate is a working-class community and I want my students to be exposed to higher education and what they can aspire to,” South East High School teacher Glenda Watanabe said. “[USC] is not very far from South Gate, but to our students it’s a world away.”

According to the volunteers, the goal of this event was to challenge the students’ thinking and ideas through the speaking engagements and classroom lectures, while also inspiring them to attend college in the future.

“The teachers love it and the kids love it,” Parr said. “There’s universal, positive feedback.