CARLISLE, Pa. — Throughout the Fifth Annual Diversity Mentorship Networking Night, held on Jan. 31 at Penn State Dickinson Law, students heard a continued refrain: You never know how you are going to make a new connection or what that connection could mean to your future.
“I have worked with law students for almost 20 years, and nights like tonight have, upon reflection, changed a student’s life,” Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar Jeffrey A. Dodge told the more than two dozen students participating in the event.
Assistant Dean for Academic and Student Services Giselle Santibañez-Bania echoed that thought. “I’ve had mentors who look like me. I have mentors who do not look like me,” said Santibañez-Bania. “So be open to all the connections you are going to make over the next hour.”
With that, the Dickinson Law students scattered among nine tables to begin connecting.
The night culminated more than four months of planning that began last summer. The event is put on by student coordinators from the Black Law Students Association, Latinx Law Student Association, OutLaw, Women’s Law Caucus, Middle Eastern and South Asian Law Students Association, and Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, in conjunction with the Dickinson Law Office of Student Services. “We had an incredible turnout,” said Uyen Nguyen, class of 2025, president of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and one of the student organizers.
Trying a new approach
The night aims to connect students with real-world practitioners from varied backgrounds, allowing students to ask the types of questions they cannot always explore in class. The evening began with a keynote address by Stephanie A. Jirard, a professor of criminal justice at Shippensburg University who has taught as an adjunct at Dickinson Law.
She began by telling students that “being a lawyer is the absolute best career on the planet,” then reminded them that “diversity” encompasses more than skin color. “It is about everything,” said Jirard. “It is about religion. It is about veteran status. It is about political affiliation. It is about gender, sexual orientation, expression, identity. It is about marital status. It is all that you are and seek to be.” She wrapped up by offering a few networking tips based on her own career experience.
The main portion of the event had a different setup than last year, which featured a panel of practitioners answering questions.
Instead, after Dodge, Jirard, and Santibañez-Bania delivered remarks, the practitioners split off to nine tables. Small groups of students then rotated between the tables, mimicking a speed dating setup where you have five minutes to get acquainted before a bell rings and students move to the next table — only instead of asking “what’s your sign,” students ask things like “did you always want to practice public interest law” or “what was the most useful course you took in law school?”
A chance for one-on-one interaction
Rhodia Thomas served as one of the evening’s practitioners. She is executive director of MidPenn Legal Services, a nonprofit law firm that provides civil legal services for low-income residents and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Central-Pennsylvania, as well as an adjunct professor of law at Dickinson Law.
Thomas has participated in past networking nights at Dickinson Law, and she likened this year’s change to the "speed session" format. "Coming in, I wondered how that would work, but it worked really, really well,” said Thomas. “I enjoyed changing it up so that you didn’t just stay with one group of interviewers."
After the speed sessions, practitioners and students enjoyed a buffet from Asian Bistro and Banana Leaf, where participants could follow up on earlier questions or discover shared passions they may have missed during the five-minute session.
“Instead of just digesting information you hear in an auditorium, this gave us a chance to ask questions more personally and connect on a different level,” said Miyah Kureishy, class of 2025. “Some of the most surprising things I heard tonight actually do not have to do with the law. They were more about how to balance your personal life and relieve stress in certain jobs that are tough mentally, like working on domestic violence cases. Hearing how to intersect your personal life and your legal career was very, very valuable.”
“We need diversity in the legal profession”
Nguyen also got a lot out of the night. “I think one thing we learn as a 2L is not every networking opportunity has to lead to a job,” said Nguyen. “Some people might turn away from an event like this because they think, ‘Well, I already got my summer offer.’ But actually, you may be really interested in what someone is doing and not get a job prospect out of it. That is still a valuable connection.”
Including practitioners of differing identities and backgrounds was also a critical part of the evening’s success. "It is important to prioritize inviting practitioners from groups underrepresented in the practice of law to speak with students and fostering those relationships because there are so many places where that is not being done," said Joshua Hanson, class of 2025, who helped organize the event and serves as treasurer of OutLaw, Dickinson Law’s LGBTQ+ student group. “Then you are only facilitating and continuing the pattern of underrepresentation. I am so proud to attend a school that is putting in that effort.”
Nguyen agreed. “We need diversity in the legal profession, and events like this do not happen every day,” said Nguyen. “The opportunity to connect with judges and lawyers of color was just amazing.”
“Events like this are important because they get students away from the books and teach them to speak with people,” said Jirard. “During COVID, young people lost the opportunity to relate and talk to people. So this is a great way to foster communication and connection.”