As a senior post-conviction attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, Allison Standard ’09 has facilitated the release of inmates from prison because of sentencing errors and wrongful convictions.
“When I went to law school, I had no grand illusions of six-figure salaries, a large house or a fancy car. I wanted to find a career that matched my skill set with my passion for helping underrepresented people,” Standard says.
She started her career with the help of UNC School of Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP), which provides a short-term forgivable loan toward repayment of qualified law school education loans for eligible graduates who enter public service.
The program, which began in 2010, supports a facet of UNC School of Law’s mission: to allow students to enter public service employment, which typically offers lower salaries than the private sector. Already, LRAP has awarded over $1.3 million to more than 125 alumni.
As members of each new graduating class become eligible, the program receives more applications for limited funds which come almost entirely from tuition revenue. Although the program has a strong financial core, increased private funding is needed to help the law school continue to support qualifying graduates in a substantial and meaningful way.
“At LRAP’s inception, we could not have anticipated the success of the program,” says Vanda Chou, director of law school financial aid. “For alumni and friends who are interested in supporting the school’s mission, this is a significant program which impacts not only our graduates but also the communities in which they serve.”
For more information about LRAP, visit http://www.law.unc.edu/admissions/financing/lrap/.
-February 16, 2015