Social-Justice Minded Student Uses Evening Program For Career Reboot
Evening student Kathleen Becket ’18, a native of Davis, Calif., is growing her skills and her social justice goals during her time at Loyola Law School. Loyola’s part-time JD program is enabling her to fulfill her ambition to be an advocate and an agent of change.
After succeeding in Hollywood as both an executive and a writer/producer, Becket saw she could effect greater social change in another significant role. She switched careers and became a Los Angeles Teaching Fellow, focusing on special education. She found the transition satisfying, but realized she still wanted to do more.
“I was a pretty aggressive advocate for my students,” she said, adding that while her classrooms increased in size over time, the availability of critical resources for the students actually decreased. “I finally decided it was a problem bigger than anything I could solve as a teacher,” said Becket.
Education and labor advocacy became Becket’s main focus, and she decided that a legal education would help her accomplish those advocacy goals. She’s currently taking the Civil Rights Litigation Practicum, and Loyola’s part-time JD program – the top ranked part-time program on the West Coast – gives her the freedom to continue her work.
With a diverse peer group consisting of classmates with deep backgrounds in a variety of careers, Becket enjoys classroom discussions. “It makes the dialogue more stimulating. All of us are accomplished professionals, with deeply informed and diverse perspectives that you can’t get in more traditional programs,” said Becket, who once structured strategic partnerships between studios like Universal and DreamWorks and tech giants Intel and MSN, among others.
Loyola’s extensive alumni network also has proved beneficial for Becket, who noted that she’s been able to make a number of connections at local law firms.
Becket is excited to see what the future holds. “Everything I’m learning I can directly apply to my advocacy work, and it’s furthering my ability to help people.”