“Growing up as an African American in South Central Los Angeles, it was assumed I would be a Democrat. In fact, my mom to this day still claims to be a Democrat. Most of the people I grew up with were Democrats. But the truth is, when you took away the political labels, I was raised in a conservative home with Christian values.”
“After graduating from undergrad, I got accepted into the Chapman University Fowler School of Law and am currently pursuing a degree in criminal law. Growing up, so many of my friends and family members were the ones needing lawyers, not becoming lawyers. I wanted to flip the script. I feel like I can do a lot of good for justice in my community and can be an example to my own community on what you can be if you believe that you are capable.”
“There were a lot of challenges I went through to get to where I am. When I joined a conservative group on campus, I lost a lot of friends because of what they assumed I believed about everything. I think we should all come to conclusions about what we believe by examining multiple perspectives and discovering the truth in it all. But unfortunately, not everybody wants to do that work.”
“I also didn’t have the kind of preparation others have when it comes to applying for law school. Many of my colleagues here were working on internships and taking LSAT classes long before they applied. I didn’t know law school was even an option for me until later in my education, so I had to study and apply for law school as a recently married woman with a young daughter. It was work. But I pushed through it and now am pursuing a dream.”
“Long term, I want to be a judge. I want little girls from my neighborhood to look at me and know they might be a little Kimberly in the making.”
Kimberly McGee
Orange, CA
Kimberly is pursuing a JD in Criminal Law from Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law.
