Harvard Law Students Pass the Hat to Fund Public Interest Job
Public interest fellowships sponsored by law schools are fairly common, but at Harvard, students have decided to fund their own.
The student-run Post-Grad Student Funded Fellowship seeks to raise $50,000 to fund a public interest job for one student after graduation, the National Law Journal reports.
The goal is to create a fund that will provide similar opportunities each year. Fundraising efforts, which began in February, have included bake sales, pub nights and dollar-a-day for a month campaign.
The site promoting the program notes that the fellowship “will be given to an applicant with a demonstrated dedication to public interest work and a specific project proposal who has been unable to find funding elsewhere.”
Behind this particular effort are 3Ls Sheila Lopez, Julie Ruderman, Alison Welcher and Maura Whelan, who all have law firm jobs lined up next year.
“This is intended to be a grassroots effort that will create a community atmosphere on campus,” Whelan told the NLJ. “So many of us are fortunate to be going into the private sector, and we have the opportunity to help those who want to do public interest.”
In a letter posted by the Harvard Law Record, the 3Ls wrote that, “The economic downturn has made clear that nothing can be taken for granted, including the availability of a job for someone both qualified and deserving.”
“Discussions about post-graduation plans have turned into comparisons of starting dates, deferral periods, and the latest frustrations of trying to crack into the public sector,” they noted. “Some of us find ourselves relatively well positioned; others are still busy networking, mass e-mailing, and polishing up fellowship proposals.”
There’s no word yet on whether the students have reached their first-year goal.
