Madison Smith hasn’t yet finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Miami, but she has already gotten a jump start on law school.
The rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences spent four weeks this summer taking legal writing and criminal procedure classes at Florida State University College of Law, where she also attended panels on everything from sports law to criminal defense.
Smith was one of only 60 students from around the country selected for the prestigious Donald J. Weidner Summer for Undergraduates Program in Tallahassee, Florida, which is an all-expenses-paid program that helps students prepare for law school.
The summer program enabled Smith to apply what she has learned as a pre-law student at the University of Miami to law school classes, and it also gave her a broader understanding of the legal field.
“This experience provided invaluable insights and resources essential for succeeding in law school and my future legal career,” said Smith, who is triple majoring in English, political science, and Africana studies.
Smith’s desire to become a lawyer was sparked by her participation in a Black Lives Matter protest, which heightened her awareness of the inequalities in the legal system. Although she hasn’t yet decided which area of law she’d like to focus on, civil rights is one of the fields that interests her.
“The summer of 2020 redefined what it meant to be a witness, to be an advocate, and ultimately, to be human,” Smith said. “At my first Black Lives Matter protest, an innocent 6-year-old boy stood, his tiny fingers clutching a sign that bore the words ‘Am I Next? Let Me Breathe.’ I decided in that moment, I no longer wanted to be a witness to injustices; rather I wanted to become an agent of change. I am driven by the belief that justice is not a distant ideal but a tangible reality that we must strive towards every day.”
Smith grew up in Tennessee and decided to attend the University of Miami after touring the campus during her senior year of high school. “I fell in love with the campus,” she said. “It just felt like home immediately.”
She was accepted into the Foote Fellows Honors Program, which provided her with the academic freedom to triple major, and she was also invited to join the College of Arts and Sciences’ da Vinci Honors Program.
“I would say that one of my biggest highlights being a part of the College of Arts and Sciences has been the professors,” Smith said. “Every single class I’ve taken, I’ve left with a lot from it, and I’ve left with a lot of connections with professors I still speak with today.”
As she prepares for her senior year and the law school application process, Smith is looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills she gained during her summer program.
Those skills include public speaking. Smith had the opportunity to visit the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee and observe oral arguments. Then, she was tasked with presenting an oral argument in front of a panel of law professors and recent law school graduates who acted as judges. She practiced her presentation for hours with the other students in the program.
“Oral arguments felt difficult to do because none of us had ever done this before and completing it in a short time frame was nerve-racking and challenging,” she said.
That public speaking experience will likely come in handy as Smith continues her many leadership roles on campus, which include serving as president of her sorority chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha, a student leader for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the co-founder of a majorette dance team.
“I’ve done a lot to make the most of my four years and really explore all UM has to offer,” she said. “UM has really allowed me to evolve as a person and as a leader and offered me a lot of opportunities to figure out who I am as a young adult.”
