Jacqueline Justice originally intended to go to law school at Howard University. However, when an administrator convinced Justice to visit the University of Oregon, she “fell in love with it.”
Justice, who graduated from the University’s law school on May 12, said the sense of community and welcoming that she felt at the University drew her here.
As an undergraduate at Central Washington University, Justice studied Spanish and intended to become a Spanish language teacher. She decided to go to law school after taking political science courses and discovering an interest in the law.
Soon, Justice will be combining her love of the law and interest in teaching. In October, she heads to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, where she will spend two years teaching international law at a program organized through the University of Alabama.
Dire Dawa, a city in Eastern Ethiopia, has a population of 398,000 and is the nation’s second-biggest city.
“This is going to be a really big adventure,” Justice said. “I think it’s so important to learn about different cultures. I’m really looking forward to learning so much.”
Student Senator Athan Papailiou, who served on the Student Senate with Justice this year, said he is impressed by Justice’s ambitions to work abroad.
“That’s incredible,” he said. “She’s taking the opportunity to go there and use her law experience to teach others that may not otherwise have the opportunity to learn about law.”
Justice focused her studies here on international law, which she studied in the first place because she wanted to use her language skills to work in immigration law. She said she thinks international law can be used for “coalition building.”
“Our world is so much smaller now that I think it’s really important that we start to focus on the ways that we can relate to different parts of the world,” she said. “It’s so clear we’re not alone; we’re not isolated in this world anymore.”
Justice said she has become very interested in the “human” element of international law and has focused on the effects of trade and treaties on other nations.
Although she had not been involved in student organizations as an undergraduate, Justice kept herself very busy while at the University.
She served on the chapter board of the Black Law Student Association and also did work at the regional and national levels of the organization.
Justice was also on the board for the Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity and was a co-director for the Minority Law Student Association. In her second year of law school, she took a position tutoring first-year students and worked in a GTF position in the law library as a third-year student.
Last year, Justice decided to add one more thing to her plate when she ran for a law school position on the Student Senate.
“The law school is super-duper isolated,” she said. “I wanted to gain a better understanding of what the main University did as well as get out of the law school. I think you spend so much time over there, you forget that there are other things going on.”
Papailiou said he has been impressed with Justice’s work to create a deeper connection between the law school groups and the ASUO.
“I really admired her for that,” he said. “She played a dual role as advocate for students and an advocate for the law school.”
Justice said she became interested in the student government her first year here. That year, controversy over the Oregon Commentator budget led the ASUO Constitution Court to file injunctions against three members of the Programs Finance Committee, delaying the PFC budget.
“I was like, this is fascinating that they operate this way,” Justice said.
Senate President Jonathan Rosenberg described Justice as a “very principled and very consistent” worker.
“She brought a very necessary voice of reason to the Senate,” Rosenberg said. “Whenever she would scrutinize ASUO actions, it was always in the best interest of students. She never liked when we’d let things slide. She was a very hard worker and has a strong work ethic. She really set an example for the rest of the senators.”
Papailiou agreed, saying that Justice always worked to ensure the Senate was following the rules. He described her as “dynamic and hard-working.”
“Jacque is always on top of things,” Papailiou said. “She sticks to her schedule. She’s a person of integrity, balance and honor.”
Although this year on the Senate was not without controversy, Justice said she enjoyed the job.
“I met some really cool people,” she said. “I enjoyed working with most people. I think I come from a different place than a lot of the other people. I try not to take myself too seriously, so when stuff happens I just don’t let it affect me. I take the job seriously, but I don’t take myself seriously.”
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