The youngest black lawyer to graduate from a US law school is a 19-year-old woman.
Haley Taylor Schlitz, a smart 19-year-old woman, is the youngest student in the history of Southern Methodist University to get an honors degree from the Dedman School of Law.
Haley gained attention in 2019 after being admitted at the age of 16 into nine legal schools. She graduated from Texas Woman’s University in the US with a bachelor’s degree in multi/interdisciplinary studies.
She chose to enroll at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law after receiving acceptance letters from nine other law schools, and she will receive her Juris Doctor in May 2022. (J.D).
She graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law at the age of 19, making her the institution’s youngest Black graduate.
“We are so proud of Haley and everything she has done while attending SMU Law School. We are excited for her because we know she will change the world.
Haley Schiltz expresses how strange it feels to finally receive her law school diploma. It’s been a lot of building up, and taking off is incredibly exhilarating, she said.
She attributes her success to motivations from her mother, saying she is her biggest motivator and biggest supporter.
“My mom has been probably my absolute biggest motivator, my biggest supporter, the person that I look up to the most. She’s an ER doctor and so for the longest time, I wanted to be an ER doctor, but even after wanting to be an attorney, and now going to law school, she’s still somebody that is such a huge life counselor, such a great advisor for me,” she said.
Schlitz said she wanted to use her Law degree to help other students and fight for equity. “You don’t find your path. You make it. Take life by the reins, by the horns, and just really make what you want your reality,” she stated.
She encouraged people to take advantage of opportunities and not to be afraid to take chances.