The Pre-Law Society, a newly created RSO at UCA, plans to provide resources and assist UCA students who have an interest in attending law school after they complete their undergraduate degrees.

“Our RSO is unique in that it’s targeted directly towards pre-law students. There is no ‘pre-law’ degree, and so we offer the most direct connection to law school after graduation,” Vice President Logan Smedley said.

As a part of junior Haydyn Hudnall’s honors thesis project, she made plans for the RSO after she realized there were not many resources available at UCA for students like herself interested in pursuing law school. Hudnall, who plans to pursue law school after undergraduate and become an immigration attorney, is the president of the Pre-law Society. She is currently an English and Spanish double major with a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies. 

“I thought if we had a structured organization where we could bring students together and share the information, then it would benefit not just me, but other students in the future as well,” Hudnall said. “We just really want to be a resource for students on campus.” 

The RSO plans to have monthly informational meetings provided by the executive board on topics like the LSAT, bar exam and the law school application process. 

The executive board consists of President Hudnall, Vice President Smedley, secretary Vivian Norris, treasurer Justin Krikorian and media coordinator Gabby Thurman. 

Hudnall said they are also hoping to do networking events like a career fair or a law school fair, which will be at the beginning of the fall 2022 semester. They also plan to bring in current attorneys to share their experiences in the field. 

Hudnall said this organization is designed to give students direction and exposure.

“[It will] expose them to the different types of law that are out there, [like] business law, environmental law, immigration law, and help them be more prepared for when they actually do go to law school,” Hudnall said. 

Smedley said, “The connection to other students who are ahead of where they are, faculty who can help get them there, and speakers who have connections are valuable to someone considering law school.” 

Any UCA students, regardless of major, are welcome to join the RSO. “Even if you don’t know for sure that you want to go to law school, we encourage those kinds of students to come to our meetings to network and talk to other students to see if that would align with their interests,” Hudnall said. 

They held their first meeting Feb. 22, which was a general interest meeting. They had a turnout of 15 people. 

At their general interest meeting a lot of students were interested in learning more about the LSAT, so their next meeting — which will be on March 29 — will cover information on the LSAT. Norris will present at the meeting and give an overview of the test and how to study for it. 

Their last meeting of the semester will be April 19. They plan to do a “networking event for prospective students” and bring in attorneys currently working in the field, Hudnall said.  

In the future, the RSO hopes to create an LSAT scholarship, which would help students with the expenses of taking the test. Every time a student takes the LSAT, there is a $200 fee.

“We know that’s not always an option for students, so we want to be able to provide them with those kinds of scholarship opportunities,” Hudnall said.