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Tampa Native Makes Harvard Law Review
Sisters pursuing law degrees
gether for the LSAT, we dis- cuss career goals and profes- sional opportunities, interviews, life. She is my best friend. That’s the way we were raised. That rela- tionship will always con- tinue,” Rachel said.
Becoming a member of the Harvard Law Review “was a very exciting and challenging process. Before coming to Harvard, my only understanding of the Law Review was that President (Barack) Obama was the President during his time there. It was something that was very influential for his career. There is a lot of pres- tige that comes with it, but theworkIamabletodois the most rewarding factor.
“I have become a stronger writer and some- one that understands legal arguments. As a member of Law Review, we select many articles that are going to be published. Almost all major lawyers, professors and practitioners of the law want to be published in the Law Review. We have a very unique role as students when it comes to selecting articles to be published. We get to select and edit what is going to be published, so we take our role very seriously.
“You also have an oppor- tunity to be published. So, I am currently working on an article that speaks about the federal Riot Act. I’m very excited about that and it’s one of the benefits of being on the Law Review.
Rachel said, “I grew up listening to my father tell stories about growing up in Georgia during segregation
Rachel Favors, Tampa native and 2014 high honors graduate of the In- ternational Baccalaureate Program at King High School, was named to the prestigious Harvard Law Review in December, 2020.
Rachel, a 2018 gradu- ate of Dartmouth College, is in her second year of law school at Harvard. She is the first Black from the Tampa Bay area in recent memory to make Harvard Law Review. She says things she learned growing up in Tampa contributed to her being able to be named to this distinguished group.
While Rachel will earn her law degree in May, 2022, her sister, Ashley, will earn a law degree in May of 2021.
Ashley is a high honors graduate of Tampa’s Riverview High and a third- year law student at the Uni- versity of Florida. They are the daughters of Ray and Starlin Favors of Valrico. They credit the love and support of their parents for their success.
During the 2020 COVID- 19 pandemic, Rachel and Ashley posted several videos on Facebook where they gave advice to minori- ties on how to prepare and gain admission into law school.
“My sister and I have al- ways been very supportive of each other. We motivate each other and one of us is always willing to help the other one. We studied to-
a
RACHEL FAVORS ...Named To Harvard Law Re- view
and the civil rights move- ment and what they had to do to overcome racism. He spoke of how the law could be used to change and im- pact society in a positive way.
Mr. Favors told the Sentinel that he always told his kids to “put God first and to support each other.”
During college, Rachel interned at the U. S. Depart- ment of State and was inter- ested in a lot of international issues.
“I met a lot of lawyers and watched how they used their knowledge of interna- tional agreements and dif- ferent legal systems around the world. I observed how they combined their knowl- edge of the law with policy and history. So, I decided law school was the best op- tion for me to combine my interest in history, the legal profession and policy.”
When asked about role models, she said, “My major role model was my dad. I very much admired the way he was able to overcome many obstacles and barriers and still achieve and find his way to success. He taught me about “learning, earning and passing it on.” I learned my work ethic from him. “From a professional per- spective, Michelle Obama was my role model. She is a wonderful Black woman who was able to form her own avenue in the world in the legal profession and as First Lady. After leaving the White House, she continues to write books and get in- volved in social issues while still being a mother and wife.”
Rachel Favors with her parents, Ray and Starlin Favors.
Rachel and her sister, Ashley – both of whom are law school stu- dents.
Rachel says she’s very excited to see Kamala Harris become Vice-Presi- dent? “As a fellow member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., it’s exciting to see her as a Black woman rise to that level of achieve- ment. It’s a great national story to see a woman of mixed heritage, Indian and African descent, be able to impact the lives of many young girls. Just like Pres- ident Obama, she will be a role model for many genera- tions with the work she will do as Vice-President.”
When asked about her long term career goals, she said, “I am very much inter- ested in litigation, both criminal law and civil proce- dure. My focus right now is to work for a major law firm in the Washington, D. C.
area.’
Her advice to those inter-
ested in becoming lawyers: “You should know there is no dream too big for you to achieve. When I was younger, I knew I wanted to do something related to law, but I never dreamed I would be at Harvard. In high school, there were people that told me that may be too challenging, and my grades may not be good enough and don’t set my goals so high, but my family always en- couraged and supported me. If you put in the work and find good mentors and peo- ple that want to help you get there, you can get there. I went through the public school system and if I can make it, so can someone else. I hope people can take my story and learn from it.”
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