Last week, the聽聽(NNALSA) announced this year鈥檚 Community Task Force. This group of individuals鈥攕elected from NALSA students across the nation鈥攚as created with the goal of facilitating townhalls with each NALSA area around the U.S.
Colorado Law 1L Malorie Stick was one of three students selected.
鈥淪pecifically, we [the task force] want to hear from marginalized communities in NALSA such as 2SLGBTQ+, Black/Afro-indigenous, and Veteran communities,鈥� Stick shared of the task force鈥檚 goals. 鈥淭he question we want to answer is how National NALSA can better serve its members and chapters, especially when it comes to building community.鈥澛�
The task force will be facilitating town halls starting this month and lasting until February 2024. Beginning in March, the task force will then finalize a report with their findings and present it at the Annual NNALSA Conference on April 4-6聽in Sandia, New Mexico.聽
鈥淎s a task force member, my personal goal is to ensure that everyone feels empowered to speak up and feels that their input will be heard and valued,鈥� Stick said.
"I think it is essential and beneficial for every student to feel as if they have a supportive community while in law school, especially marginalized communities who have historically been excluded from the legal community."
Stick has a passion for empowering Native Americans in the professional and educational realm and enjoys fostering meaningful discussions.聽She became interested in the task force position, because it provided an opportunity to help her fellow Indigenous law students feel empowered and heard.聽Additionally, this work with NNALSA aligns with some of Stick鈥檚 future goals once she obtains her JD.聽
鈥淲ith my law degree, I want to be an advocate for those in need, specifically, I want to advocate for women in domestic violence situations,鈥� Stick shared. 鈥淕enerally, I am interested in Family & Juvenile Law and how this area of law intersects with Indian Law. Careful listening, establishing trust, advocacy, and facilitating difficult conversations is an everyday part of being an attorney, and being on this task force will give me experience and practice with these skills which will help me achieve my goals.鈥�
Congratulations, Malorie, on this exciting accomplishment! Learn more about NNALSA聽聽and visit our student chapter鈥檚 page聽here.