Mia Faith Chamberlain, a Leadership Fellow with a passion "to advocate and defend religious freedom for all," will spend a week this fall in Washington, D.C., to network with professionals involved in protecting religious freedom in the United States.
Mia Faith Chamberlain, a member of Elon Law’s Class of December 2017, is among 10 students from across the country selected to attend the First Liberty Fellowship program presented by the First Liberty Institute, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest legal organization dedicated solely to defending religious liberty for all Americans.”
As a First Liberty Fellow, Chamberlain will visit the U.S. Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, as well as lecture and networking events with leaders advocating religious freedom for all. The Nov. 6-10, 2017, fellowship program also offers opportunities for fellows to learn from experts in history, law, media, and more.
“This experience will equip me with the skills and knowledge I need to be an advocate for religious freedom,” said Chamberlain, a Leadership Fellow and alumna of N.C. State University, and a member of College Place United Methodist Church in Greensboro. “I grew up in a home where the foundation is faith and remaining true to my values. Advocating for our first liberty that is granted to us in the U.S. Constitution ensures that in the future my children will live in a country where their religious liberty is not limited by government interference.”
At Elon Law, Chamberlain has served as co-editor for the Journal of Leadership and the Law and as Community Outreach chair for the Elon Law Pro Bono Board. She currently serves as president of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society and as president for the Business Law Society.
Serving as the North Carolina Bar Association student liaison for Elon Law, Chamberlain ensures the student body receives information of networking opportunities and events throughout the school year.
Chamberlain said she is exploring possible legal careers in higher education where she can apply knowledge of contracts, licensing, and trademark law to work with a university athletics program. Her interest in religious liberty, she said, is a personal passion and one she hopes to protect.
“From 2011-2016 attacks on religious liberties increased 133 percent,” said Chamberlain, citing the First Liberty Institute’s most recent annual report. “It is crucial we fight to protect this fundamental right for all Americans. Religious liberty is protected in the First Amendment for a reason, it is a core foundational principle of our system of government.
“If we lose this liberty, we lose them all.”
Chamberlain credits her Constitutional Law and First Amendment courses, as well as Elon Law’s Leadership Program, in preparing her for the First Liberty Fellowship.
“Elon Law’s focus on leadership has inspired me to be a leader not only in our local community, but also in ways that serves the greater good on a larger scale and brings positive change,” she said. “Many of our readings touch not only on the definition of leadership, but what effective leadership looks like in practice.”