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This past spring, as members of the UNC School of Law class of 2025 finalized plans for life after law school, the third-year student class also committed to creating a legacy. In an effort led by class president Rob Jarrell, Student Bar Association president Josh Jacobs, and third-year class representatives Wendy Zheng and Tom Betz, the students collaborated on the Carolina Law class of 2025 gift to support public interest summer grants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a school tradition that began a decade ago, the third-year law student class came together to provide critical support for students taking on unpaid public interest work over the summer. By providing funding for this endowment, the graduating students helped alleviate financial barriers so that first-year and second-year students could pursue meaningful, justice-driven summer jobs without having to choose between passion and practicality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople who take on summer public interest positions are very rarely paid, and if they are paid, it’s not much at all,\u201d said Betz, who oversaw the class gift campaign. \u201cPeople who take these positions are incredibly selfless because, as a law student, summer is when you rely on making enough money to help support yourself throughout the academic year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Betz appreciates the contributions of his classmates, noting that by giving to the endowment, third-year students affirmed their willingness to help their peers who work to ensure that justice is accessible to all. He notes that since there are limited opportunities for first-year students to find summer jobs at a law firm, many of his peers accept public interest-related internships, even if their ultimate goal is working at a law firm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in partnership with the Carolina Law Office of Advancement, Betz and his team tabled in the lower rotunda of the law school three days a week throughout the spring. In addition to encouraging students to donate \u2014 with a suggested amount of $20.25 to represent the class year of 2025 \u2014 the organizers created other opportunities for students to give back. This included writing a thank-you note to a favorite professor or staff member who impacted their Carolina Law journey and updating post-graduation contact information so that the UNC Law Alumni Association has contact information after students can no longer access their unc.edu email address. Students who completed any of these actions received Carolina Law merchandise, including hats, visors, and bags. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leadership of this effort invited classmates to join in this effort by noting, \u201cWe\u2019ve been there for each other through late-night study sessions, finals, and internships. Now, let\u2019s be there for the next class of public interest lawyers.\u201d The nearly 100 donors \u2014 the highest number in recent years \u2014 were comprised primarily of students but also included alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a video on the campaign page, third-year law students invited their peers to participate in the campaign by explaining that the public interest grants mean \u201c\u2026justice isn\u2019t just for those who can afford it\u2026we can stand up for those who need it most\u2026a stronger, fairer legal system for everyone.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nearly 100 donors joined Carolina Law’s class of 2025 in supporting public interest summer grants, ensuring future students won’t have to choose between financial stability and justice-driven work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2711,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2710"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2715,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2710\/revisions\/2715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.law.unc.edu\/september-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}