Montana State STEM student admitted to prestigious pre-law program

BOZEMAN - A sophomore in Montana State University's Honors College double-majoring in cell biology and neuroscience and biochemistry was recently accepted to the highly selective University of Virginia Law School Roadmap Scholars program. Neva Clark is one of 12 students nationwide admitted to the program and the first to be accepted from MSU. The program by the top-tier law school is designed for underrepresented first-generation and minority students. First-generation students are the first in their immediate family to attend college.

"This is basically life-changing, because it's giving me tons of resources I've never had access to in my life," said Clark, who was raised in Great Falls by her mother.

This summer, she will spend three weeks at UVA Law where she will attend mock law classes, tour law firms and network with students. The all-expenses-paid program carries with it a $3,000 stipend. In the second summer of the program, she will return to the campus as a mentor for the new group of first-year students in the Roadmap Scholars program. She and the other second-year students will also receive assistance with completing law school applications and prepping for the LSAT - the law school entrance exam.

"We get to be with other students that are kind of in that same boat as we are, where it's for students who don't necessarily have the same resources as those who might have parents who are lawyers," she said. "So, it's our opportunity to explore a career field that we didn't really have as much access to before the program."

Clark, who has yet to decide whether to attend law school, is happy to have the opportunity to learn more about what merging her interest in intellectual property with her current academic pursuit of cell biology, neuroscience and biochemistry might look like. The Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience is in MSU's College of Agriculture, and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is in the College of Letters and Science.

"I want to explore patent law," she said. "So, I want to take the scientific background I'm getting and turn it into a legal perspective."

If she enjoys the program, she said, attending law school may evolve into a goal rather than just an option under consideration.

Clark and her mother, a retired bonds trader, have grown much closer since her father's death during her freshman year in high school.

"We've both kind of changed a lot together," she said. "We weren't necessarily as close before he passed, and now she's practically my best friend. So, she's been extremely supportive."

But her mother can only help her so much with the challenges of being a first-generation college student. Clark explained that many of her MSU peers in STEM fields - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - have parents who are doctors or have gone to college and can help set them up for success.

"Everything is kind of new to me and my mom. As supportive as my mom is, she doesn't really understand it," she said. "I've had to navigate everything on my own. I've had to find my own path, look for my own scholarships and just try to figure out everything on my own."

This has fostered a sense of independence in her. But being independent doesn't have to mean working alone.

"There are a lot of good resources on campus," Clark said. "Sara Callow, my pre-law adviser, is one of the best resources I've had so far. She's really helped me navigate what pre-law might look like as a STEM student."

Callow is MSU's pre-law adviser and a political science instructor. Pre-law advising is housed in University Studies. The Department of Political Science is housed in MSU's College of Letters and Science.

"I met Neva early in her freshman year through her interest in law, and she quickly stood out for her enthusiasm and engagement," Callow said. "She has been an eager participant in pre-law events and showed a clear interest in patent law from the start - whether working through challenges at events or coming to office hours to explore opportunities more deeply."

During the summer after her freshman year, Clark was an undergraduate researcher in a laboratory that focused on fruit flies.

"I learned it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in research," she said, "because it was more genetics-focused rather than biochemistry-focused."

This summer, when she's not at UVA Law School, she plans to work in Brian Bothner's research lab at MSU, studying the metabolic and biochemical impacts of diets rich in antioxidants. Bothner is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and director of Montana IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, or INBRE, which is a statewide network of Ph.D. granting institutions, baccalaureate schools, and community and tribal colleges that invests in the state's biomedical research capacity and workforce pipeline. INBRE is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"After mentoring undergraduates in research for over 20 years, I can say that the best predictor of success in research is enthusiasm," Bothner said. "The students that really enjoy what they are doing are the ones that can make it through the challenges that biochemical research always brings and come out the other side as scientists. I see this enthusiasm in Neva, and I am excited to see where it takes her."