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By the Juris Education Interview Team
Redina Rapi is the President of the Penn John Marshall Pre-Law Society (JMS). She envisions JMS as a valuable resource to help her and other students understand the law school application process and connect with alumni who have undergone this experience.
JMS is unique in that it is small and its members are close. We have dinners together, watch movies together, get hot chocolate and study together, and play board games as study breaks. My role as president is to join different committees together to do all these bonding activities. I try my best to get everyone to focus on the fun part of being pre-law, which extends beyond just studying for the LSAT. We have the important, pre-professional meetings together, but I want everyone to enjoy each other’s company, as once we all get into law school, life will get much busier.
I decided to pursue leadership within the pre-law community at Penn because I was discouraged by the lack of close-knit pre-law communities. I attempted to meet other pre-law students through a pre-law fraternity, but the fraternity is so big and disconnected that it was difficult to really connect with other like-minded students.
I also knew I wanted to change how pre-professional clubs at Penn worked. Every other pre-professional club I am in is serious and always working, and I wanted to create a club different from that. I wanted to make studying fun so as to avoid burnout at our earliest stages of studying and preparing for law school.
Members of JMS prepare for the LSAT through structured learning and collaborative activities. We host many LSAT webinars from companies like LSATMax and Juris Education, which provide professional guidance and expertise. JMS also hosts study sessions where members can focus on test preparation in a supportive environment. What has proven most effective for us are peer teaching approaches where members teach each other difficult topics, collaborative learning through watching tutorials together, and learning from guest speakers who share their personal experiences with the LSAT and law school admissions. Additionally, we always try to post valuable tips and resources on Instagram, making information accessible to all members.
Our speaker series has been the most meaningful initiative for members of our pre-law society. We've hosted diverse legal professionals, including representatives from USC law, local law firms, startups, and prominent political figures such as Chris Christie. These speaker events create valuable opportunities for our members to directly engage with legal professionals and ask questions about law school admissions, career paths, and the legal profession. It has been really helpful because while we all try to support each other, at the end of the day we're just students figuring things out too. Having these professionals come in gives our members a chance to get advice from and learn from people who've actually been through it all and can share real-world insights that complement what we learn from each other.
Students joining our pre-law society gain a range of skills that serve them well beyond just LSAT prep. Through our study sessions, they develop strong analytical reasoning and critical thinking abilities while learning to break down complex logical problems. When we bring in speakers from places like USC Law and local firms, members get to practice networking and build connections that often prove valuable later on.
Our collaborative approach, where students teach difficult concepts to each other, naturally improves their communication skills—something essential for future attorneys who need to explain complicated ideas clearly. Many members also discover leadership abilities they didn't know they had by organizing events or leading study groups. Perhaps what makes our society unique, though, is how we teach balance—showing students that rigorous preparation doesn't have to mean burning out. We've created an environment where members learn to manage the stress that comes with pre-law studies while still maintaining their passion for the field. These skills form a foundation that helps our members not just get into law school but thrive once they're there.
Leading our pre-law society has taught me some valuable lessons about myself. I've discovered that leadership is definitely challenging, but the rewards make it worthwhile. One of the biggest realizations has been understanding that not everyone will contribute equally, and as a leader, it's my responsibility to find ways to encourage maximum involvement from all members.
I've also learned how much I can grow by being surrounded by people with diverse interests in law. Unlike pre-med students who follow similar coursework, pre-law students come from various academic backgrounds and have interests spanning from environmental law to criminal justice to corporate law. This diversity in our close-knit group has exposed me to legal perspectives I wouldn't have encountered otherwise, which has both broadened my own interests and improved my ability to connect different legal concepts.
The experience has revealed my patience and adaptability when facing challenges, whether it's coordinating schedules for our speaker series or addressing conflicts within the group. I've also discovered my own capacity for creating systems that make studying more enjoyable rather than just another stressful obligation. Perhaps most importantly, I've learned that I truly value creating community spaces where people can support each other through difficult academic journeys, which has confirmed my interest in collaborative rather than purely competitive environments.
Juris Education is proud to interview experts like Redina Rapi to help future lawyers understand the benefits of extracurricular involvement in college. Learn more about how our experts can help you get into law school today.
