Carly Kay has been an active member of the Ohio University community during her four years in Athens. A senior from Conneaut, Ohio, she is a Sociology Pre-Law major. Along the way she picked up a minor in Psychology as well as the Certificate in Law, Justice & Culture.
Carly Kay
The certificate is an interdisciplinary and selective program that combines coursework from across the social sciences and humanities to provide students with intellectual training in a “law and society” perspective. It also provides opportunities for faculty mentoring through research projects, internships, study abroad, and career guidance.
During her time at OHIO, Kay has served as a Pre-Law Ambassador with the Center for Law, Justice & Culture, working closely with Larry Hayman, the CLJC Pre-Law Adviser, to represent the interests of pre-law students.
Additionally, Kay spent her senior year as an Access to Justice Intern with Southeastern Ohio Legal Services, gaining valuable experience in the legal profession and rural access to justice struggles. SEOLS provides civil legal aid to individuals and families who would otherwise be unable to afford an attorney.
During her internship Kay realized that “there are many people who need help in the legal field, and SEOLS gives these people the chance to have an equal opportunity in court and society, even if they don’t have the means to do so.” She says that this experience gave her the opportunity to learn how to effectively communicate with clients and to learn how to use the information that people gave her to help them.
Her favorite experience at Ohio University has been, “getting to know my professors and advisors on a personal level. This helps me feel more comfortable in classes and reassures me that there are professionals that want to help me and see me succeed academically.”
Kay said that it is difficult for her to pick her favorite class that she has taken in her time at OHIO, but that Sociology of the Courts with Dr. Ursula Castellano stands out to her.
“We had a project that required us to go to the Athens Municipal Court and observe the courtroom environment. I liked this so much because I got to see hands on how the court really worked and what my future may be like!”
After graduation Kay plans to continue on at Ohio University to earn her Master’s in Law, Justice & Culture. After this she hopes to continue on to law school.
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