WRBLSA Member of the Month

Zenobia Bell

UCLA School of Law

Ms. Zenobia Bell is a third year student at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law ("UCLA Law"). Bell is an active BLSA supporter, member, and leader since her very first days as a law student. As her BLSA chapter's co-chair, Ms. Bell helped to create and implement new programs such as the HerShe College Day, a program dedicated to uplifting and empowering high school girls in foster care. Last year, Ms. Bell truly exemplified her commitment to BLSA when stepping in at the last minute for her chapter's Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial team because a competitor could not attend the National Competition. She was determined to give 100% of her efforts to help her team compete so that the other three team members would not lose the experience to compete nationally.

Within her law school community, Ms. Bell has helped UCLA Law's Summer Program as a mentor and teacher's aide. This program aims to assist minority and non-traditional students in a successful transition to the law school. Further, Ms. Bell has served as mentor for UCLA's Academic Outreach program which introduces undergraduate students and graduates to the realities of law school and its application process. Ms. Bell has also worked in Dependency Court with the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles and for Presiding Judge Nash of the L.A. Superior Court, Juvenile Division. Ms. Bell currently serves as the co-chair of the Juvenile Hall Advocacy Clinic in addition to serving as a pen pal with the Bridges Through Books program, a program dedicated to encouraging at-risk youth. Additionally, Ms. Bell has been a staff member, Managing Editor, and Submissions Editor for the UCLA Entertainment Law Review and is currently serving as an extern for the Honorable Dean Pregerson in the US District Court for the Central District of California.

Apart from her law school related responsibilities and opportunities, she is currently putting the finishing touches on her Master's Thesis entitled "African-American Nomenclature in the 1960s," which explores the label identity shift from "Negro" to "Black" during the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements. Staying true to her motto of "lifting as we climb," Ms. Bell looks forward to ending her joint M.A. Afro-American Studies/J.D program in the Spring of 2013 and putting her skills to the test in her legal career by helping children and families in the juvenile justice field.