In this episode, Cadie and Emma are joined by Faith Dixon to discuss the Women in Law Association!
EMMA: Welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome. We're so glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard. CADIE: I'm Cadie Junker. BOTH: And we're your hosts. CADIE: Hi guys, this is Cadie popping on before the episode to tell you that the club discussed in this episode, Women in Law Association has unfortunately disbanded this semester. However, we felt that Faith's experience really shines a light on the student experience of trying to start a club, as well as giving really great information about domestic violence and other serious topics. We just didn't feel like it was right to cut out this episode, even though the club is no longer here. And if you are a woman in law, then maybe this is a club that is calling to you to get it going again. But I just wanted to say that for all the events we talk about, unfortunately, that won't be happening. But I hope you enjoy the episode regardless. CADIE: In this episode, we're discussing the Women in Law Association. Of course, we could not do this alone. So today we're joined by a current criminology student here at GMU with a minor in forensic psychology. She's very involved on campus with three clubs and five on-campus jobs. Please welcome to the show, Faith Dixon. Faith, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing today? FAITH: I'm doing well, a little under the weather, sickness is getting everyone, you know. CADIE: I know there have been so many students in my classes that have just been gone because they're all sick. I'm glad that you're feeling well enough to record though. FAITH Yes. EMMA: So I know we already kind of just introduced your major, but can you share what class you are? FAITH I'm a senior. Senior graduating next semester. EMMA: Oh, how exciting. FAITH: I know. EMMA: How are you feeling about that? FAITH Ready to go, honestly. I finished all of my crim classes except for my capstone. So you know, I'm excited for that. I hope I get, like, I'm on the wait list for my capstone right now. So I hope I get in. EMMA: Yeah. EMMA: So you are a criminology student who's minoring in forensic psychology. How did you come upon that academic path? How did you know that was for you? FAITH: Well, I did mock trial in high school and I knew I was interested in, like, law. And I was originally, like, looking for, like, a political science major, but Mason didn't have one. So I was looking at, like, something similar because I knew Mason had a really good, like, criminal justice program. So that's why I got with criminology. And then forensic psych, I met my friend Haley at working with intramurals. And she was also a criminology major and her minor was forensic psych and she liked it. So I was like, you know what, why not? And I've loved it. I love, I love Professor Ramsdale, Dr. Ramsdale. CADIE: That's so great. Kind of going into our next question. Why did you choose Mason? FAITH: For a couple of reasons. This is going to be a slight little Patriot Leader response. EMMA: Please! Please! Oh, yes, please. FAITH: But my sister went to Mason and I already knew it was, like, really good school. Like, it was large and I wanted something bigger than my high school, which was kind of small because of the, I was in the IB program. So, like, all of my classes were small. So I wanted something a little bigger, something a little different. And Mason is, like, one of the most diverse universities you could probably see, at least in the area. So it was, it wasn't too close to home. It also wasn't too far. Like, I live in Richmond, so it's about, like, two hours, you know, being generous with traffic. So the location, I've already mentioned, like, the criminal justice program, the proximity to D.C., you know, number one in upward mobility, best value, all that, you know, all the Patriot Leader stuff. But, no, I really have enjoyed my time here and I am glad I chose Mason. Yeah. EMMA: That's great to hear. I think the reasons you listed are a lot of the reasons why a lot of people come here. So, you came here to, for a lot, and it sounds like you are doing a lot of things. You're involved in a lot of resources, of course, including Women in Law. This is the resource episode after all. Can you share what resources or campus organizations are you involved in? FAITH: So, the Women in Law Association, of course. I also started Mock Trial, which has since then sort of fizzled out. And also Lambda Alpha Epsilon, which is the criminal justice co-ed fraternity here on campus. And then the jobs I have. I'm an intramural official, supervisor, competitive sports program assistant. I'm also a safety course instructor. Oh, and Patriot Leader. Can't forget about that one. EMMA: Who's that NSFP? FAITH: I love new student and family programs. And all of the great people I've met there, like Emma Howard and just a couple of others. Yeah, those are just a couple of things I'm involved in. Just a few. CADIE: Specifically focusing on Women in Law, what position do you hold in the association? FAITH: So, honestly, kind of just whatever my President Jaylin needs. Last year, I was mostly the treasurer. But now I've transitioned sort of into vice president slash secretary. So really just whatever position she needs me to be, I'm there. Also helped her found the club when we were freshmen. I think we were freshmen at the time. But yeah, we founded the club together. It was mostly her idea. Really great idea because she had mentioned there's women in business, women in STEM. There's no women in law. So that's sort of how that idea came to be. EMMA: That's quite an accomplishment to have your very first year of college. I hope as the club continues or the association continues to go on, I hope that turns into a really valuable resource for a lot of women. Because I think that you make a good point of there are women in business, women in STEM. But the fact that you got to start an association focused on women in law, I think will benefit many people. FAITH: I hope so. EMMA: For those who don't know, can you give us a brief summary of Women in Law? FAITH: Yeah. Essentially, we're trying to just do as many events as possible. We're really in a building phase, of course, because it's fairly new. But what we have done in the past is we've done LSAT prep. We've had some people come in and talk about what they do in their field of law. We've done events where we're trying to fundraise for survivors of domestic violence. We've done domestic violence awareness, like kiosks here in the JC. And we're really just trying to get our name out there so we can get the resources out to the people that need them in terms of, well, do you want to go to law school? Are you interested in that? Or just helping people figure out, well, is this the path I want to go on or not? And that's sort of also why we do other events outside of law, because we don't want it to be just for people who are interested in law. We want to be able to fundraise for people outside of that. CADIE: Yeah, I mean, it sounds like you guys do so much, and that's so cool. If somebody were to randomly walk in on a meeting, what do you think they would find? FAITH: A lot of discussion about what comes next. That's really what we're focused on, especially if they go to – we usually do our meetings online, especially recently with our e-board, just trying to rebuild, build up what we want to have. A lot of what we're talking about is what do we think is going to help the community? What do we think – it's just a bunch of discussions. What do we want to see happen next? Who can we help, and how can we help them? And then also, how are we just going to build the community up? What events do we want to do? Do we want to do a self-care event? Do we want to do a let's watch a movie together? Just really anything that will bring people together. EMMA: Honestly, if I was not so busy, I would love to attend a meeting, because it sounds like a really welcoming and just really fun space to be in. What student populations could really utilize and benefit from Women in Law? FAITH: Obviously, definitely women. Women are just at the top of the list here, but anyone at all can join. Anyone at all can come to any of our events. We definitely encourage that. We'll tell our members all the time, please bring friends. We're going to have free food and drinks. Who doesn't want that? I think every club is caught on to that. People are going to come to the event if there's free food and drinks. We try to tell people, bring your friends, so they can come out and see what our club is about. We'll usually have events, I guess, peddled towards women in law specifically, but also events that are going to be community-based, so people coming out just to have fun and enjoy and relax. Then, of course, we'll do a shameless plug and promo for Women in Law, so we can have people come out and spread the word, basically, on that. It's kind of like an outreach sort of thing, so anyone, really, please come. CADIE: Yeah, that sounds very welcoming. I know that there's always, I don't know if hesitance is the right word, but a wondering of when it comes to an association that focuses on a minority group, whether that be women or a certain ethnicity or something of the sort, where people outside might not think like, oh, well, is that going to be a welcoming space for me? But it sounds like with Women in Law, yes, it is. Just understand that we're going to be centering women and women experiences. FAITH: Yeah. CADIE: Our next question for you is that if somebody does want to get involved, how can they? FAITH: Well, first thing I'd say is follow us on Instagram, WILA at GMU. Pretty simple. All of our events that we're going to do are going to be posted up there. We haven't had any this semester, but like I said, a lot of our discussions are going to be what we're going to do next semester and what we have planned for that. So definitely be on the lookout for those on our Instagram. But I'd say that's step one. And then once we do have events, it's just a matter of joining it on Mason 360. And if you do want to be like a part of the club, like someone who is actually interested in law and you don't want to just come to the events, which either one is fine, then you'll meet with Jaylin, our president, and she'll help you get acquainted in the club, that sort of thing. EMMA: Very nice that the president would get to be a part of that process of acclimating into the association. I think it's really nice and really personal. What events does Women in Law do? FAITH: Like I said, we've done self-care events. So we also do WILA in D.C. every year, or at least we have. So we have done that every year where we go in D.C. and we just go around, look at monuments, take pictures, have a good time. Last year we toured the Capitol. So we're just looking forward to doing something similar to that where we can just bring our women out and have a good time in D.C. But in terms of events we've had on campus, we have had an LSAT prep day. We've had, like I said, the kiosks in the J.C. where we're doing domestic violence awareness. We've sent out letters last Christmas for survivors of domestic violence. We've also done care packages for that as well. So those are some of the events that we do where we're just really trying to give back to the community on top of bettering ourselves in terms of prepping for the LSAT. And if we have any other ideas on how to prepare people for law school, I don't know anything other than LSAT prep. And then of course meeting with those people who are actually in their fields and they can talk about sort of, well, this is what I do, this is what my day looks like, and sort of how I got there. Sort of, I guess, it would be great to do a mentorship program sort of thing, but that would require a lot more. But that's what we have done so far, yeah. CADIE: Can I ask you, what has been your favorite event to do? FAITH: I'd have to say going into D.C. I just love the environment. I think we went in April, so it was spring. The weather was nice. It was pretty outside. And we just looked official, I guess. I felt professional to be in D.C. wearing professional clothing and being there for this specific organization, Women in Law. And if someone asks, “What are you ladies here for?” “We're the Women in Law Association from George Mason University. I'm so glad you asked.” It's great. And also, we're getting our name out there. I think a lot of people go to Mason because of its proximity to D.C., so it's nice to get our name out there in the area that I know a lot of people probably want to work in. CADIE: For sure. My next question for you is, what resources does Women in Law utilize? Do you have anybody who you guys partner with? FAITH: I know you guys probably have heard of the mixing between CCEE and the LEAD office, and now it's the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement. If you guys know Jem Renz, she's our faculty advisor. So we utilize her to help with ideas and getting spaces. So yeah, that is our faculty advisor. And in terms of other resources that we use, I think that would be pretty much it in terms of other people. But whenever we have an event where we need a panel or something, or if we have someone we want to talk to, then we'll just reach out to them directly. But Jem Renz is now our faculty advisor. EMMA: What a great office to have as your support system and as like you're helping you just spread your reach. Really great. Coming back to the logistics of the association, where do you guys meet? What times do you guys meet? FAITH: So right now that's sort of up in the air, but we do have our general body meetings Mondays at 8 p.m. It's mostly the e-board talking about, we're mostly just planning, like all the events that we want to have for next semester, getting that figured out. But like I said, we do post everything that we're going to have on Instagram. If we have any events coming up, they will be there. CADIE: Can you give our listeners like a little hint, sneak peek about what's coming? So this is coming out in the spring semester. So by the time you guys are listening to this, WILA should have some events up and running. Do you have any sort of like more permanent ideas, things that will most likely happen next semester that you might want to plug? FAITH: Well, definitely what we're hoping that will come to fruition are WILA Wednesdays, where at night we'll have events, series, whatever you could, basically the things I just mentioned. So we want to sort of streamline the events that we did because last semester and years previous, we've sort of just done our events whenever like we were free. But now we sort of want to make a set day where we're going to have those events. So Wednesdays are going to be those days where we're going to have those panels, the LSAT prep, people coming in talking about that, domestic violence awareness, sort of making those kits, care packages, sending those letters are going to be on Wednesdays. CADIE: Next question. What has been your favorite memory involving the program? ‘ FAITH: I'm going to say, actually, this is surprising to me because my memory is pretty bad, but I remember the first meeting we ever had and it was in Fenwick Library. It was sort of just trying to like see if there would be interest in having a club like this at all. And so Jaylin had brought like some of her friends out. I brought some people that I knew and we all just like met in Fenwick. Jaylin brought Dunkin Donuts, love a good donut. And we just sat and talked about like how there was women in business, how there's other like women's specific clubs for specific fields and how there was none for law and sort of how we would want that to change and what our ideas were for how we can get involved, get a faculty advisor, get resources, get the word out, have a community, that sort of thing. And so I think that would be my favorite memory because I can think back to like what we were saying then and how it's sort of like come to fruition now about how we wanted to, you know, not only focus on law because a lot of people are scared of that word when they hear law. They're like, I don't want to go to law school. That's scary. So we wanted to focus on awareness for something else as well, which is why we have domestic violence awareness, why our colors are purple. Like we were all talking about that sort of thing and like how we wanted the club to actually look. And I think that's my favorite memory because, you know, we sort of put our money where our mouth was. And while we might be like in a rebuilding sort of this semester, I really think that next semester, me and Jaylin's last semester, because she's also a senior, that we'll really be able to, you know, do what we have been doing before. EMMA: It sounds like WILA has offered a lot of personal fulfillment for its members as well as professional development. Can you speak to the connections that you have made through the association? FAITH: Yeah. So I know a couple of our members actually, like e-board members, they had left the club because they had gotten an internship or they had met someone who was interested in having them like on their staff and that sort of thing. I personally didn't because I already have so many jobs on campus, so many other commitments. So I wasn't really, I guess, interested in that networking aspect. But our previous vice president, Minhaj, had left last semester for an internship and that lasted her for a year. She said that that was a great experience for her. She learned, I think she was at some sort of like international law security. Like, honestly, I don't really know too much about it, but I know it was a really awesome opportunity for her to have that. So, yeah. CADIE: That all sounds great. And I can't believe we're already coming to the end of our Act 1 general questions. For our final question, how did you get involved with Women in Law? FAITH: So actually, Jaylin and I met through Mock Trial. So I had started Mock Trial my first semester freshman year and she was one of the members of Mock Trial. And I guess we were just talking one day. It really was her idea for Women in Law. I just sort of supported her throughout that process because I had already like started a club myself. So I knew like you needed the six members, Mason 360, you needed a faculty advisor, all the ins and outs of creating a club. So I helped her with that. But other than that, she really came up with, you know, the title WILA: Women in Law. She came up with like what she wanted to do for the club. And then we all sort of just I came together with some people that I knew, some people she knew. And that's sort of how we started the club. CADIE: Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about what that process of getting a club up and running is like? FAITH: It's pretty simple as long as you know a couple of people. A process is you'll have to I think it's six people total, including yourself. And you need a president and a treasurer to start. And then you need four founding members. And then you'll need a faculty advisor to start. Our faculty advisor for Mock Trial was Phillip Mink, who's the pre-law advisor. And then after that, you need to write a constitution. You need to make a logo. Constitution logo. I think that is pretty much it. And then, of course, you'll have to do that during the RSO deadlines, which is registered student organizations. And you submit all of that through Mason 360. And then they approve or don't approve you based on like, maybe you need to make an edit to your constitution or your logo doesn't follow like university branding policies or something like that. Yeah. And then you need a club name, of course. And yeah, all that just has to follow like university branding, which is a lot different now because of the new logo and then new branding stuff or whatever. So, yeah, that is pretty much it. It sounds pretty simple. Sounds easy. But, you know, the it's really just the finding people that was difficult because like if you can't make the Instagram yet because you don't you're not approved to like have the logo and like have the name yet. So it's kind of like word to mouth. You can't have a kiosk without like having a club. So that was just the most difficult part was finding people. And unfortunately, I had to like talk to people. I didn't really do a lot of that freshman year. So that really got me out of my comfort zone. So, yeah. EMMA: What advice or tips would you give to someone who's interested in starting their own club? FAITH: Do it. There shouldn't be anything stopping you. Like, you know, it sure it has slight difficulties, but like, you know, what doesn't you're in college after all? Like is the time to try new things, get yourself out there, especially if like Mason doesn't have the club that like you're interested in. Make it! Like I was really surprised Mason didn't have a mock trial team because it was part of UVA at some point. And UVA has an amazing mock trial team. But I was just really surprised. And so I was like, you know what I did is all four years of high school. There's no way I'm not doing it here. So I was like, you know what? I have to. So I'd say if you're passionate about it, go for it and like talk to people in your classes. If it's something that's like related to your class or talk to somebody in other clubs, if it's similar to that club or, you know, talk to a professor. Maybe they know some other students like there's a lot of different resources on this campus. And like, there's really no reason why you couldn't make a club if you're interested. EMMA: Well, with that, we're going to close out Act 1. Listeners, stick around past the bulletin board for it to come back to Act 2. During the bulletin board, you can expect to hear from a correspondent. You can also expect to hear CHSS announcements and some general resources and PSAs. CADIE: Don't skip this. This isn't an ad break. EMMA: This is the bulletin board. In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in CHSS. Hear from correspondents and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible. Kristin: My name is Kristen Tyburczy. I am the undergraduate program coordinator in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society. My email is ktyburcz, t-y-b as in boy, u-r-c as in cat, z as in zebra at gmu.edu. Yeah, so there's three registered student organizations that come to mind based on our students' academic interests. We have the Intelligence Community Network for students who want to work in the intelligence community. Lambda Alpha Epsilon is a GMU chapter of the American Criminal Justice Association. And Freedom Connection Rotaract is going to be more of interest to students who are focused in the human trafficking area. So the CLS internship program is open to all criminology majors. It is a two-course sequence. So the first course, CRIM 479, is Criminology College to Career. This is open to students, whether they want to complete an internship or maybe they just want a little bit of assistance navigating their post-graduation plans. So maybe figuring out, do I want to go into the field? Do I want to go to grad school? In that course, you're looking at your resume, your cover letter, you're making tweaks, you're developing your interviewing skills, you're getting experience and exposure to that application process, whether it's for internships and jobs. And then that can count towards the degree for the major requirements. And the internship course is part-time or full-time, depending on the hours a student completes at their site. So students sometimes think that if you do an internship, you're doing that on top of the credits that you're taking, but we really give you the credit. So if you're doing a 30-, 40-hour-a-week internship, you're enrolling in a full-time internship credit. So you would be full-time, let's say, for financial or graduation purposes. And you'd be going directly to your internship site instead of taking those lecture-based courses in one semester. As part of the internship program, there's an internship expo every semester. So this is a nice experience because sometimes those university-wide internship or career fairs can seem very daunting and overwhelming when you've got over 100 employers and hundreds of students attending, that there can be a lot of competition. It can be scary. This is just for criminology students. The students who are currently interning are talking about their experiences in their site. So they're saying, “Here's what I'm doing. Here's what I am doing research on in my site.” So students can ask questions of their peers as far as what that site was like, how they've made balancing internship and work, for example. And then there's also an internship fair. So a lot of our community partners are attending the fair. They want to hire our students. So we have a lot of police agencies. We have different legal areas. We have nonprofits. So students can go and speak to those individuals and get a sense of what those internships are like, when they might be applying for it. So it gives them a lot of really good practice. And I've witnessed so much growth when I go to speak with my students at the internship expo. And hear about their experience. So just how much they've grown, not only academically, but professionally to really prepare them for their next steps post-graduation. So it's definitely something I recommend for all students to attend. And as I mentioned earlier, there's the unpaid internship scholarship that can help out. I think Career Services is something that we always suggest for students, but it seems to be underutilized. A lot of times a freshman or a sophomore student may not be thinking about what am I going to do at graduation two, three years down the road. And that's totally understandable. There's a lot of programming and opportunities that they offer that students can take advantage of throughout their four years. And even after graduation. So particularly for our students, there is a clearance-ready program. So this is a combination of events every semester that helps students better understand the process of applying for a cleared position. These events are facilitated by employers. So it's not a staff member. It's someone who's in the community who does the hiring, talking to them about the do's and don'ts. They have different topical sessions every semester. So they might say, how do you answer on your polygraph if you've used drugs and alcohol, right, and you're not able to legally? What about managing your finances? Certain considerations that students want to take into account as they're thinking, I may want to go into this career field. For students who participate in this program, they get first access to site visits, employment opportunities, networking opportunities with these different organizations. So there's a lot of interest and excitement when I send anything out for these employers. But students want to participate in the clearance-ready program. So they get first dibs because the rest of the university community may not get access to it if those spots fill. And then definitely attending the larger events gives students a lot of practice. So the career fair can seem overwhelming, but there's a lot of events leading up to that and support and resources that the career services advisors can provide to help a student feel a little bit more confident going into that experience. And it's always best for students to get practice marketing their skills, talking to an employer before there's actually a job on the line. If you're in an interview and you mess up the response to the question, you might be out of the running for that job. So getting this experience when there's really nothing on the line can only benefit students. And if someone's not sure how to get started meeting with career services, my suggestion is schedule a resume critique with one of the industry advisors. So we have people who specially work with students interested in government careers or education fears or STEM careers. Schedule that appointment. You have a resume, you know, it might be a little bit outdated, but that is a document that both you and that advisor can look to to facilitate a conversation. Because if you don't have that resource, sometimes it can feel a little bit like a job interview. What have you done? What has that experience been like? And you feel on the spot. They can really take the resume to the next level. That also is a starting point for those conversations as far as what other experiences do you want to have before you graduate that you can put on your resume? So I think starting that conversation with a resume critique is kind of a low-stakes opportunity that then can really build upon the student's plans and help them really get to the next step for after graduation. CADIE: And thank you so much to Kristin for that information about all the resources that criminology provides. Now on to your CHSS announcements. As always, we've got your CHSS Pop and talk that's in the Horizon Hall Atrium on Thursdays from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m. Stop by, ask some questions, and be in community. The next event that I want you to have on your calendar is that Undergraduate Research Symposium. I'm going to be pitching this to you guys until the event is over. If you have done any research within the past year, including this semester, spring of 2026, then you are invited to submit your abstracts. Those are due April 10th. That is coming up. That is next week. So be sure to get those abstracts in if you want to be a part of this symposium. The symposium itself is going to be on April 23rd from noon to 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided and you will be able to come and talk about your research, or you will be able to come and see all of the wonderful research that CHSS students have been doing within the past few years. But maybe you haven't done a research project yet. No worries. That same day in the morning from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. there will be a Getting Started with Research session that is attached to that Undergraduate Research Symposium. This will be an info session that will be more focused on educating you than going around and looking at the projects. Come for some of it, come for all of it, but just make sure that you come for the research symposium. Then, of course, on Thursday, April 30th, that is the last Thursday of the semester, at least for regular classes. That is when CHSS will be having their end-of-semester de-stress event. That will be a picnic and we'll have wellness activities, and that will most likely be in the Quad, which is the grassy area nearby Sub 1. I hope to see you all there. CADIE: Welcome back. We're going to go ahead and get into Act 2. Act 1 was a lot about general information about WILA. Act 2, this is going to be a little bit deeper reflection, pulling from your own experiences. Our first question for you is, can you talk a little bit about why WILA chose domestic violence as a cause to focus on? FAITH: Domestic violence awareness is something that, I mean, we just passed Domestic Violence Awareness Month. With women, women are the most impacted by domestic violence. We thought it only, I guess, right to talk about that issue because it seems to be something that not a lot of people think of, I guess. As a women-based organization, we thought it was important to have an issue that impacts women mostly. Then, like I said, on top of people being scared of the word law, being scared of law school, we wanted something as well to focus on so that not everyone is just like, oh, it's just a law organization. I don't want to be a part of that. I'm not interested in law. We wanted something that people likely should care about being domestic violence. It just seemed like an issue where we could help out somehow, some way with the community that we had. It's also something that a lot of, I guess, lawyers could focus on. A lot of people don't know, like me personally. I don't know what I want to focus on when I go to law school. It could be something for some people to focus on. Like I said, it's really easy to just get those resources, get the word out for that. And something like having a sanitary products drive, pads and tampons and tissues and underwear, like gathering those things up is something that is easy for people to do. And so we thought, why not do it? CADIE: I think domestic violence is such an important issue because we hear about it all the time. But I think a lot of times people don't understand what it actually is or that DV is a lot more than just physical abuse. EMMA: And I think WILA is, from what it sounds like to me, doing a really excellent job of modeling how organizations, clubs, how we as just individuals and people can help and can utilize our resources to come together or start to do drives, like pull together resource, things like that to really support victims of domestic violence. To shift a little bit, coming back to your major in relation to women in law, what knowledge have you taken from your CLS degree into your experience with WILA? FAITH: Well, of course, just like the research based aspect of it. A lot of crim classes are based with like reading, research, writing, that sort of thing. And I think what's important is to know about the issue that you're, I guess, making people aware of, raising advocacy for. And with domestic violence, Cadie, like you said, it's not just physical violence. And a lot of it, we could use also IPV, interpersonal violence, could also be the way to put it. But I'd like to read into domestic violence. And I'm not just like, oh, well, guys, yeah, let's raise awareness for it. And then no one knows what it is, what we're raising awareness for, like why we're doing it. And it's important to like, do that research. And I think doing crim classes have helped me with that, because I find it easy to like do research or read or write based on something that I'm actually interested in. Like I mentioned before, I finished all my crim classes. I'm taking actually one right now, intro to crim, criminal justice, crim 210. And it's the only crim class I'm taking right now. And the rest of them are just electives. And it's the one I'm doing the best in just because like, it's not the easiest, but it comes the easiest. And I think with criminology, with domestic violence, if it's something I'm interested in, then it's easy for me to read about it. It's easy for me to write about it. It's easy for me to talk about it. So I think that's helped me in that aspect. CADIE: Can you tell us a little bit more about the intersection between law and criminology and domestic violence awareness? FAITH: Yeah, of course. So I mean, I'm sure you guys already know, but a lot of domestic violence goes unreported. A lot of people sometimes don't even know that it's happening to them, especially if it's psychological, emotional, financial. And there's so many different types of domestic violence, domestic abuse, interpersonal violence. Like it's not just between spouses or partners. It can also be between friends. It can be like it's in the house. It could be your parents, like things like that. And I think that is an intersection with criminology because it's the study of crime, like why do people commit crimes? And I think it's really important, like that intersection, at least between crim and domestic violence, because it spreads awareness as to why it's happening or why it's constituted as a crime. Like I said, people don't even know that it is a crime, especially if it's financial, emotional. Like there's not that physical thing that's happening. Everyone knows hitting someone is a crime and not everyone knows that emotional abuse can also be a crime. And that also goes into law, like helping people understand that it is helping people understand that there are resources that they can go to. And also like maybe if that's something they're interested in or they're realizing that, wow, that actually happened to me or my best friend told me I'm a big fat loser and then she hit me. You know that that's a crime, right? You're getting hit. But some people might not know that coercing your grandmother with dementia to send you three million dollars is also a crime. So I think like there's that nuance between something that's obvious and not so obvious that criminology helps with. Yep. I think that was it. CADIE: Next question for you. Can you tell us how the Women in Law Association has impacted your academic or professional life? FAITH: Yeah. So being in the club, of course, being one of the founding members and on the e-board has definitely impacted me in the sense of, well, now I have a responsibility to not only the other e-board members, but also the just members of the club, members of the community. And having that responsibility on top of my academics has helped me like sort of balance the two, I guess. Of course, having other jobs on campus, like a job is outside of like regular hours, I guess for me, because intramurals is at night, like I literally have work in two hours. So working that has been a normal balance. But like having a club on top of that, I guess you could say is sort of more schoolwork. So it's a very different like having a balance between my actual schoolwork and then doing the work for WILA, doing the research for domestic violence, coming up with ideas for, you know, what could actually benefit people, what's actually going to make sense, what's going to, you know, impact women in law. And so having the balance that, I guess, has taught me sort of discipline in that aspect of, you know, what's going to take my time today? Is it going to be work? Is it going to be schoolwork? Is it going to be my clubs? And I think having WILA in my back pocket has helped me with not only like being able to balance between the two, well three or four or five or six or whatever, but also helped me with being able to balance. EMMA: That's great to hear. How do you think this association can impact the academic or professional trajectory of its students? FAITH: I hope super positively, especially in terms of what people want to do for the future. Like I said, LSAT prep is very important and, you know, also very expensive for a lot of people, especially if you want good quality prep. Having to buy those textbooks is expensive. Having to buy blue books is expensive. Having tutors is expensive. Everything regarding law school is expensive. And I think it's a great opportunity that we have to try and do that prep for free. Trying to have someone come in and help them with that. Having someone come in and, you know, even if we don't have someone come in, we're all helping each other, all bouncing ideas off of each other. What are some good study tips that you have in terms of the LSAT? Well, I do this. I sit down and I only, I pretend like I'm taking the LSAT every time. Some people are like, well, that doesn't help me. Sometimes I have to listen to music. And then, I mean, even though you're not allowed to, I'd like to practice how I play, but for some people that doesn't work. Sometimes they practice different than how they play. I like to sit down and pretend I'm taking the LSAT. Some people need music to get through it. And they're like, maybe I'll wean off of it. Or, you know, some people read the question three times. Some people read it twice. It's all about sort of finding the balance. And I think like taking the LSAT is sort of like a performance almost. Everyone's going to be different in how they want to perform. Everyone's going to be different in, you know, how they answer questions, how they read questions, how they interpret questions. That's the fun part about the LSAT. And so, everyone's just sort of bouncing ideas off of each other on the best strategy. And then, on top of that, we have applications we have to do. So, you know, what is your personal statement going to look like? How are you getting your recommendations from your professor? And all of these things are happening in just one day. So, I think that's why it's important for us to actually like have those WILA Wednesdays consistently next semester because it's a lot of stuff that goes into wanting to go into law school. And I think that is, you know, one of our main things that we want to peddle to, especially people who are interested in law and law school. And so, that's why we want to be able to help people in that way academically, but also professionally because you have to know how to professionally send an email to your professor, professionally send an email to your boss. Like, hey, you can't just say, yo, boss, can I get this letter of rec or not? You know, you got to be able to professionally, you know, ask without using chat GPT, okay? You know, maybe we're not going to have chat GPT forever. So, we also want to help professionally develop those skills. CADIE: Yeah, for sure. And law school is such a comprehensive process. Like, you have to do so much. Like, just applying to grad school is no easy feat. I'm currently in that process right now for applying to the BAM program here at Mason, getting into the grad school here. But law school is like on a whole other level of work. So, I think that WILA is such a great opportunity to really shine a light on the process and to hopefully clear up some confusion as well. Our next question for you is, what is one lesson that WILA has helped you learn? FAITH: No one's gonna do, no one's gonna do your work for you. And also, people might not even do the work that is required of them, which is also a big lesson that college has taught in general. When it comes to group projects, everyone has their group project horror story, I'm sure. But when it comes to like, a big club that we're trying to create, like WILA, you know, some people just aren't going to do what they need to do in order to keep it up and running, which is sort of why we're in a rebuilding period right now. We had a few of our e-board members drop because of whatever reason, because they were not ready for the work. Or, you know, they just have other commitments, which is fine, of course. You know, prioritize what you need to prioritize. I would rather people, you know, say that they need to leave than like, stay on and like, try and do poor work instead of no work at all. And so, I think what I have realized with that is, you know, advocate for yourself. No one's gonna do your work for you. Sometimes, you know, people aren't going to do the work that is required of them. And so, it all depends on, I guess, what you want, how you want to get there, you know, what you're willing to sacrifice, what you're willing to do to get to where you want to get to. Like, Jaylin and I want WILA to be a very big club. We want it to be like, student, I mean, student government has three million people in it. And, you know, they have town halls, and of course, it's like, you know, campus-wide, campus-supported. But we want WILA to be that sort of organization that has those resources for people that they can rely on, that is, you know, something that's consistent. And I think what I've definitely learned throughout this is, it's hard to work through. I mean, it's hard to do something like that. EMMA: You just perfectly led into my next question. So, it's because it sounds like you and Jaylin are doing a ton of work and a ton of preparation and dreaming for WILA. And I don't want to say, like, what's the pipeline dream? Because I truly think that with how hard you are working and the foundation you both have laid, I do think that this is something that can surely outlast both of your times here at Mason. But just to put it out here, let's do some manifestation. What is the biggest dream? Like, what is the end-all, be-all? What is the thing that WILA is going to become? And, yeah. FAITH: Okay. Well, that would be something that, I think that'll look different for everyone who's a part of the club. I'm hoping, like, the hope, the wish, the dream is that everyone gets what they need out of WILA. Whether that be LSAT prep, whether that be getting into law school, whether that be finding out if they even want to go to law school, whether that be, you know, finding out, you know what, maybe law school isn't for me. Maybe this is too much work. Like, I just want people to get what they need out of WILA, whatever that may look like. For me, personally, I hope that looks like me being super prepared for the LSAT and getting into law school. Me realizing, well, you know, I want to go into this type of law or I want to go into this type of law or I want to be this type of person. Maybe I don't want to go to law school at all and do something different in the legal field. Sort of finding that out. I just want to help people find out what they want to do. And on top of that, I want to spread domestic violence awareness to help people, to help survivors of domestic violence to, you know, do something different in the community and to bring the community together. So just a bunch, just a bunch of stuff. Yeah. CADIE: Yeah. I mean, as somebody I've also not here at Mason, but back in high school, I started up two clubs while I was there. Well, I say started, I continued the legacy of both a film club and the speech and debate program that had kind of died post COVID, because, you know, the pandemic kind of messed a lot of stuff up for clubs. And I think that WILA, from what it sounds like, is such an amazing resource. And I'm so excited for you guys next semester, because I really do feel like it will take off, especially with the WILA Wednesdays. Next question for you. What is one challenge the association has helped you or others overcome? FAITH: Well, I can say I've never really had problems with like public speaking. I've always been pretty good at articulation, thinking on my feet, that sort of thing. And WILA has helped me be, I guess, more of a people person. Like freshman year, I would have never been a patriot leader. I'll say that right now. Never, ever, ever. I think WILA pushed me out of my comfort zone, like being at kiosks, like going up to random people, you know how some kiosk people be. I would say I'm, you know, crazy, but I will walk up to people and talk to them and try and get them to be interested in the club. And so I'll say WILA has helped me with that aspect, because I really do want people to know about the resource. I want people to join the club. I want people to be interested. I want people to help us out. I want people to join the e-board that are actually going to want to put in the work. And so, yes, I will go up to some random people and say, so have you heard about WILA? Do you want free candy? And then, you know, I'll draw them in and I'll get them to do, follow us on Instagram. You'll get some candy or go to our event tonight. You know, we're going to be here doing this, that, and the third. And so I think WILA has definitely helped me in the aspect of, I guess, networking, getting out of my comfort zone, because, you know, I used to not be a people person at all. I used to just do my mock trial. I like to argue, yeah, and then I sit back down and go home and that's about it. But WILA has helped me, like, want to talk to people, want to go up to them, want to have a conversation, because again, like, when I'm interested in something, I'm going to do it. I'm going to do the work for it. I'm interested, like, I'm interested in criminology. I'm going to pass all my, I'm going to ace all my classes. I'm not doing that right now with Music 101, but, you know. CADIE: It's Music 101. No offense to any, to any music lovers or music majors out there. I'm just saying for CLS. EMMA: It's okay. CADIE: For CLS. It's okay. It's all right. EMMA: As we start to come to a close on this episode, can you talk about what has been your most valuable experience with WILA? FAITH: I think my most valuable experience was our event that we did last year, writing letters to survivors of domestic violence, because sort of at the beginning of it, even, like, no one really knew what to write. Like, you know, like, and it was hard for a few of us to see, like, well, why, how is, why are we doing this? Like, why is this going to help? How is this going to help? And so, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out, like, what are we going to write on these letters? How are they going to help? Like, who are we sending them to? That sort of thing. And so, of course, we had already decided that we're going to send them to a local women's shelter in Fairfax. And when we started to, like, write down, write the letters, we're all sitting down and no one's writing anything. And we all sort of just then had a discussion on, like, well, why are we writing these letters? You know, what impact is this going to have? How is this actually going to help the community? Because some people feel silly, like, you know, back in elementary school, you'd write letters to, like, veterans in the, at least I did, I don't know about you guys, but we used to write letters like that. And we were sort of, like, you know, it's encouraging to get a letter from a random person, like, about your experience. Like, we didn't want to write something sappy, like, oh, so sorry, that happened to you. You know, it was, it was, it was a difficult time trying to figure out, like, exactly what we were going to say. We had a nice, like, discussion chat about, you know, about domestic violence, about interpersonal violence, about, you know, how we've seen it in our lives, or if we haven't seen it, you know, how it impacts someone. And we really focused on that part, like, how is someone impacted by domestic violence? A lot of people's senses of self are destroyed, self-esteem issues. Like, a lot of women wonder, like, why did, why did I stay? Like, you know, a lot of women go back on, like, hmm, I saw this sign, I saw this sign, I saw this sign, and I stayed, and then he hit me, you know? A lot of women are like, well, he told me this, he told me he loved me, yaddah, yaddah, right? So, we're having this discussion on, you know, domestic violence, interpersonal violence, and, you know, how we've seen it maybe for people in our lives as well. And then we started to really, like, imagine, like, what would you want to hear? You know, not from your family member, not from someone you know, not from a friend, but from a random person, a random stranger. And it was hard for us to imagine, you know, being in their situation, being in their shoes, and so that's why we really sat down and talked about, well, I'd want to hear that I'm strong, that I'm powerful, that I'm confident. Some people are like, I wouldn't want to hear that, I wouldn't hear anything from a stranger. Or some people are like, well, I'd want to hear that I made the right decision, I made the right choice. A lot of people have self-doubts as to, like, going, reporting it, going to a shelter. Like, I'd want to hear that I am going to have a home, I am going to have a place to call my own one day. Like, a lot of affirmations as to what is going to happen, rather than what did happen. Instead of saying, oh, sorry this happened, focus on what is going to happen, what can happen. Like, manifestations, like, you are going to have a bright life, you are going to be a great future, your kids are going to have a wonderful future, you know, that sort of thing. And so we focused more on that. And I think that was really, you know, helpful. EMMA: I think it's really incredible to hear the thoughtfulness of what you just shared, because I don't want to get, I don't want to get too political. CADIE: They can tell us to cut it out. EMMA: They can, yeah. But, well, because what I was about to say shouldn't be political, but in all that's going on in the world right now, I think there is something really important in remembering, in the simpleness, in just tapping into our capacity for compassion, and just having empathy for others, and offering even just simplest words of encouragement, and I see you. And I think, honestly, over the course of this episode, I'm really just taking in everything that you're saying, and I really do think that WILA is making an incredible impact, and that more organizations and associations, not just within George Mason, but beyond, in our government, in our world, in our country, could really benefit from just being compassionate. CADIE: Yeah, and not just being compassionate, but showing empathy. I mean, asking yourselves, well, what would I want to hear if I was in that situation? That's empathy, you know? And I applaud you guys for the work that you guys are doing, and I'm so excited to see how WILA continues to grow in these next couple of semesters. Unfortunately, our time is coming to a close. This has been such a great experience, getting to sit down and talk to you about all of this. Our final question for you is a question we like to ask all of our guests. That question is, what advice would you like to give for our listeners? FAITH: I would say, I would say, don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do. You know, a lot of, I guess, a lot of the reason as to why we created this club is because, you know, in the past, women haven't been allowed to be in law. And of course, law is a male-dominated field. And so, I guess from my standpoint, it's sort of a thing of, I think some women take for granted, like, all that we fought for, all that we have, and all that we can do now. And so, I don't think it's right, especially if you're going after something, you want to do something, and you know it's going to help people, or you know it's going to help yourself. It's definitely not right for someone to be like, I don't think you can do it, or maybe you shouldn't do it, or, you know, maybe you should try something else, try something different. And I think as women, as people, it's important to do something and just do it. If it's right, if it's going to help someone, if it's going to help yourself, do what you can do to achieve that. And if you can't achieve that after all you've done, after all you've tried, that's okay. That's okay because you tried. And so, don't tell it, don't let anyone tell you you can or can't do something, even if you've tried and failed. You want to do it again, do it again, you know. So yeah, I guess that's my encouragement, that's my advice. EMMA: And that's great advice. Faith, thank you so much for being here. We really appreciate you taking the time to come speak with us, share about your experiences with WILA, and just the incredible work that you're doing. So, really cannot thank you enough. Thank you for being here. CADIE: Also, thank you for being here while you're recovering from sickness. EMMA: Yes. As we close out, is there anything you’d like to shout out or promote? What are your post-graduation plans? And where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS? FAITH: Check out some of the Women in Law Association's events, please. I think the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement deserves some attention and shout out as well. So, if you are a president or treasurer or e-board member of a club, see if you can set up a workshop with them. They are very insightful and, you know, we love, can I say diversity? We love diversity. Post-grad plans, honestly, no clue. Of course, hopefully law school, but you know, things change. If not, I'm heading into that workforce, so we'll see how that goes. And thanks guys so much for having me. EMMA: Of course, absolutely. Do you want anyone to find you on social media or LinkedIn? FAITH: Oh, okay. Yes. If not, it's okay. LinkedIn, Faith Dixon, D-I-X-O-N. And my Instagram is underscore dot Faith, but with two A's and two I's because Faith is a common name. EMMA: All right. Well, Faith, once again, thank you for being here. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. CADIE: Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website, where there's an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. EMMA: If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging @chsspod. All these things help support the show, and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you will tune into the next episode where we are joined by Lily Amin to discuss working as a paralegal and her valuable work experience in the criminology field. EMMA: But until then, stay curious! CADIE: Stay creative! BOTH: And stay connected.