Law Students Participate in International Service Learning

Learning Program to Belize. In total, nine law students traveled to Central America’s only primarily English-speaking nation.

The program gives students the opportunity to spend three days teaching local high school students about the law, culminating in the running of a mock trial where the high schoolers were assigned various roles.

The trip was more than just service and academic advancement for the students – it has the potential to be a life-enhancing trip both for the participants and the students they taught.  Taylor Reese relates how affecting it was: “The experience meant a lot to me because the students we worked with were really excited to learn from us and to get to know us. They wrote us letters on the last day and they told us how much it means to them and how much they learned. I was happy that I could make an impact.”

The trip gave the students a unique perspective of the legal system in Belize and a more international context for the US legal structure.  Reese pointed out “how vastly laws can differ from country to country and how the justice system as a whole differs. In Belize there were aspects of their justice system that were better than the U.S system but also aspects that were worse.”

Run by the University of Louisville, numerous Brandeis students have participated over the years, bringing back an enriched perspective by broadening their horizons.  Reese, for one, would recommend the trip to any who can do it, saying “Not only is it amazing working with the students but it is a beautiful country with a rich culture.”

For more information about international legal opportunities visit: https://louisville.edu/law/experiences/international-opportunities