Rodney Wells – a third-year student majoring in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences – was recently selected as one of the inaugural Future Leaders in Law Fellows at Harvard Law School.
The Future Leaders in Law Program, in collaboration with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, brings together students from different lived experiences for a weeklong fellowship to help prepare them for law school applications. The program’s mission is to nurture early talent and foster a deep passion for law within them.
“Through this program, I have gained valuable insights into law school and the legal field,” Wells said. “I am excited about the prospects this opportunity has opened up for me to make meaningful contributions to the pursuit of civil rights.”
Wells is one of 35 program participants chosen out of an application pool of over 700.
He chose to attend Florida State because of the University’s commitment to values such as mutual respect, accountability, and excellence. FSU has helped Wells broaden his worldview and take on new perspectives.
“I was eager to explore new viewpoints and expand my horizons, be it through academic programs, embracing student diversity, or actively engaging in campus leadership opportunities,” Wells said. “I believe that this approach helped break down barriers to progress and fosters personal growth.”
Wells is involved in several student organizations on campus, such as the FSU Chapter of the NAACP, the Black Student Union, the Student Foundation, and the Student Government Association (SGA).
With SGA, he spearheaded comprehensive plans to ensure high student voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections. FSU ultimately had the second highest turnout in the nation, partially due to the efforts of Wells and others involved on the project.
On top of his experiences at Florida State, Wells served as a John Lewis Scholar with the Faith and Politics Institute, a White House Intern, a National Democracy Fellow for the NAACP, Redistricting Intern for the ACLU of Florida, Organizing Fellow with Florida Rising, Legislative Intern in the Florida House of Representatives, and a Congressional Intern through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
Upon graduation, Wells hopes to attend law school and become a civil rights attorney. “I want to work to address the historical legacy of Jim Crow in the American South,” Wells said. “I am committed to defending the rights of marginalized communities and fighting against systemic inequalities.”
To learn more about Harvard’s Future Leaders in Law program, click here. If you are interested in FSU’s Interdisciplinary Social Sciences program, visit coss.fsu.edu/iss.