The Atlanta Lawyer December 2016 / January 2017 | Page 12

FROM THE FOUNDATION Summer Law Internship Program Aims for the Highest Heights: Championing our Former Interns S. Wade Malone Immediate Past President, Atlanta Bar Foundation [email protected] The summer of 2016 was the 24th straight summer the Atlanta Bar Association has conducted the Summer Law Internship Program for High School students. In the 24 year history of the Internship Program, over 600 Internships have been made available to high school students primarily from the greater Atlanta metro area. This past summer we had a record tying 49 Interns from a record 33 schools. We even had our first home schooled We currently have 6 former Interns in law school as well as many who have attended and graduated. All of the former Interns who have gone on to law school are the first member of their family to attend law school. Two challenges that many of our former interns face as they pursue their dream of being a lawyer: (1) is having the resources to adequately prepare for the LSAT and “The Internship Program has provided the Interns with a chance and a challenge through their internships, now we want to help champion them in their pursuit of their dreams of becoming lawyers.” participant, a dynamic young lady from Augusta. (She came to Atlanta to interview in April, was selected, and moved to Atlanta to live with her aunt and uncle for the summer to Intern.) A by-product of the Intern Program, of which we are very proud, is that many of our Interns develop an interest in attending law school and ultimately do pursue that dream. 12 December 2016 / January 2017 get in the best law school possible and (2) after graduating from law school in their quest to be a lawyer, is paying for the Bar Review class. Statistics show that those who take preparation courses, both for LSAT and Bar Review, perform better on these exams. We note there has been an alarming decline in the Bar results of first-time test takers from Georgia's law schools. The Highest Heights Initiative was commenced last summer to support our former Interns in their dreams of becoming lawyers by providing scholarship support for them for their LSAT Prep Classes (average cost $800-$1000) and Bar Review Classes (average cost $2500$3000). The Internship Program has provided the Interns with a chance and a challenge through their internships, now we want to help champion them in their pursuit of their dreams of becoming lawyers. Our goal is to raise $100,000 by August 1, 2017. We have already made significant progress in our effort to meet our goal. We are very grateful to David Schaeffer for raising funds for the Highest Heights Initiative in conjunction with his ascent this fall of Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world with a 26,906 feet high summit. Cho Oyu is located on the border of Tibet and Nepal. Seventy-four Atlanta lawyers and firms sponsored David's climb raising $20,000. In addition to the $20,000 David Schaeffer raised, we had previously raised $20,000, thus we now have a total of $40,000 pledged or in hand. This past Fall, five former Interns applied for and were awarded Highest Heights funding. Former Interns Rachel Beard (Summer Law Intern 2013; Smith College Class of 2017); Christiana Ponder (Summer Law Intern 2008-2009; Emory Class of 2013); Chelsea Powell (Summer Law Intern 2010-2011; Florida A&M Class of 2015); and Jordan Terry (Summer Law Intern 2011; Dartmouth College Class of 2015) all