Executive Board 2024-2025

Executive Board 2023-2024

Executive Board 2022-2023

Executive Board 2021-2022

Members

Founders

Alexis Foster, COMM ‘23

Hometown: Chesapeake, VA 

Majors: Commerce (Marketing and Management); Public Policy and Leadership Minor

Law Interests: Sports and Entertainment Law and Corporate Law

Alexis on co-founding UWL:

“I had always had an interest in law, but I really knew I wanted to pursue it when I worked under a Black woman who had just gotten her law degree. Seeing her be able to use her degree to make such a big impact in other athletes’ lives helped me realize that it would be a good way for me to pursue my love for law while helping others.

I had been involved in other pre-law clubs here at UVA my first two years, and I felt like I was entering my third year and still had not found a space where I felt community. Being in the business school and only a few Batten courses, it was hard for me to find people who related to being pre-law, so I wanted to create that community here at UVA, specifically with other women.

My advice would be to find a community that is right for you, whether that is with UWL or another CIO, and network and meet new people. Of course there are resources at the University, but I always found that the best advice has come from people who are currently going through or have recently gone through the process. 

The best part has been the people I have met through the club. I have been able to serve as a mentor to younger students, and I have also met professionals in careers I am interested in that have served as a mentor to me.”


Mary Withycombe, CLAS ‘23

Hometown: Arlington, VA

Majors: Political Philosophy, Policy, & Law and Women, Gender, & Sexuality studies; History Minor

Law Interests: Family Law, Civil Rights, Public Interest

Mary on co-founding UWL:

“I was the kid who was often either frustratedly or sincerely told ‘you should be a lawyer.’ At this point, I have been in competitive debate for far too long for this childhood suggestion to not materialize. After some personal experiences with the family law system in high school, I am intent on attempting to correct systemic failures to recognize humanity and provide efficient protection as a justice system should. I hope to translate this into legal work focused on families in crisis. 

Despite always planning on law school, I wasn't sure how to “be pre-law” my first year. Eventually, I recognized that I needed to prepare – but that I really wanted a community of women with which to relate in that process. Coincidentally, that was when Alexis reached out to me with her idea for UWL. I eagerly collaborated with her on creating this space we both had been wanting for two years.  

Like Alexis, my advice is to find community. Fellow students and law students are more relatable sources for answers to your pre-law questions. Connecting with people first will make you comfortable with seeking out the sometimes intimidating official university or law school resources down the road. Hopefully this will also alleviate your stress – law schools take students with a variety of experiences and credentials, which will be clearest to you when you actually talk to them. 

My fellow officers, UWL members, and all of our guests have taught me so much. I now know about different areas of law or practical insight that I would have never sought out. It’s been a joy to shape an organization and benefit from its functions and amazing people within its first year.”