Senior leaders welcomed to Greensboro on August 3, 2023, the largest class in the history of Elon University School of Law with a pledge from Dean Zak Kramer: “We will always put the students here first.”
They are former paralegals and law enforcement officers and teachers. They studied at some of the nation’s top universities. They’ve held leadership positions on their college campuses, served their communities in various volunteer roles, worn the uniform in defense of their nation, and several speak more than one language.
They’re one of the most academically accomplished cohorts to enroll at Elon University School of Law. They’re certainly the largest – so large, in fact, that welcome messages from top administrators on August 3, 2023, needed to be delivered twice.
Elon Law’s senior leadership formally welcomed the Class of 2025 on the second day of Orientation week when 173 aspiring attorneys from across the country gathered together for the start of their journey to the legal profession. Unlike the day prior, when a half dozen cohorts visited Elon Law on staggered schedules, the Thursday program brought all students under the same roof at the same time.
Because of its size, students were divided between two classrooms across the hall from each other in Elon University’s downtown Greensboro law school for senior leadership to address the 18th class in Elon Law history.
“We are in the dream-making business,” Kramer said in visiting the first classroom. “You have a dream of being a lawyer. It’s possible you were 5 years old and arguing with your parents about what counts as dessert and someone said, ‘you should be a lawyer one day!’ It’s possible that you had a lawyer that transformed your life, and it’s possible you had one who ruined it. Maybe you like John Grisham novels. Maybe you watch ‘Suits’!
“There’s a whole host of reasons for what brought you here. Because we’re in the dream-making business, we will not take your dreams for granted. What I ask of you is to be a partner with us in your education. We will do our absolute very best to make your dreams a reality, to give you the best legal education possible. But you have to communicate with us. You have to ask for help when you need help. You have to tell us what it is you are looking for so we can help you find that reality. And you have to be advocates, starting today, for yourself and for the profession.”
Kramer told students that he plans to be a constant presence in their education to ensure they are thriving in their studies. He acknowledged all of the other staff and faculty in the building who will do likewise.
“We are here because we care about this work and we want to make sure you do your absolute best,” he said. “We will always put the students here first.”
Kramer’s remarks were preceded by an introduction of the class made by Senior Associate Dean Alan Woodlief, who oversees the admissions team at Elon Law and had a direct role in guiding the recruitment of a class crafted from more than 900 applications.
Highlights of Elon Law’s Class of 2025
Total Enrollment (as of August 3, 2023): 173
Average Age: 24 (ranging from 19 to 50)
Female-to-Male Ratio: 62% / 38%
Students of Color: 21%
Top States Represented:
- North Carolina: 50%
- Virginia: 12%
- South Carolina: 6%
- Georgia: 4%
- Florida & Pennsylvania: 3.5% each
- New York & New Jersey: 3% each
The class also boasts the highest undergraduate GPA credentials in Elon Law history, with the 75th percentile, median, and 25th percentiles at 3.71, 3.42, and 3.06, respectively.
Ninety-two colleges and universities from across the nation are counted among the alma maters of those in the Class of 2025. Top universities represented:
- UNC-Chapel Hill (12)
- NC State University (11)
- Appalachian State University (9)
- UNC Charlotte (7)
- East Carolina University, UNC Greensboro & Western Carolina University (6 each)
- Elon University and the University of South Carolina (5 each)
- Clemson University (4)
- UNC Wilmington, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest University (3 each)
Many other private and public institutions are represented, including Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Bucknell, Butler, Davidson, Florida State, George Mason, Guilford College, James Madison, Penn State, Seton Hall, The Citadel, University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and University of Virginia.
More than 40 majors are represented in the class, with the most common being political science, criminal justice or criminology, business, psychology, English, marketing, philosophy, sociology and communications.
“I say every year that I want to be able to say we have majors so diverse that they range from A to Z – and I never could say that, because we never had a Z – but someone in here was a zoology major, so I can say A-Z!” Woodlief said.
Eight members of the class already hold advanced degrees, including one with a Ph.D. Many engaged in undergraduate research, written scholarly articles and made presentations at scholarly conferences. Still others were active in student government and on honor councils.
Continuing a trend, several members of Elon Law’s Class of 2025 are versed in more than one language, including Spanish, Kurdish, Chinese, and Japanese.
Service has been a hallmark of prior experiences. Several members of the class are Eagle Scouts, at least one served in AmeriCorps, many volunteered on mission trips and through community organizations like Habitat for Humanity, and others have volunteered as guardians ad litem and child advocates. The class is composed of volunteer EMTs and firefighters and at least four members served in the armed forces.
“To be sure, this is just a list of all of your accomplishments and prior service,” Woodlief said, “and we look forward to learning more about you as the days unfold over the next 2.5 years and helping you reach your professional goals.”
Orientation concludes for the Class of 2025 on August 4, 2023, following Convocation in Alumni Gym on Elon University’s main campus and a professionalism lunch immediately afterward. Its formal curriculum begins August 7 with “Lawyering, Leadership & Professionalism.”