After years of working as a garbage collector, Rehan Staton, a 27-year-old man from Maryland, is set to graduate from Harvard Law School this year, and his remarkable story has earned him national recognition. He recently co-founded The Reciprocity Effect, a non-profit that aims to give back to other support staff.
Staton faced financial and emotional struggles when his mother left his family, and he was not accepted into any college. To support his family, he got a job at Bates Trucking & Trash Removal, where his father and older brother also worked. He didn’t initially consider pursuing higher education, but with encouragement from his colleagues, he enrolled at Bowie State University and later transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park, where he majored in history.
Despite taking out loans, he continued working as a janitor to pay for his education. Through his job, he heard stories from his co-workers who had been formerly incarcerated. This led him to think about the law and the justice system and the possibility of attending law school.
Staton was accepted into Harvard, and his exceptional story made national headlines. Media mogul Tyler Perry personally called him and offered to pay for his law school education.
Since starting law school, Staton has made his mark in the field. He co-founded The Reciprocity Effect, a non-profit that helps raise funds and provide financial relief to those who work in janitorial services. The organization is currently partnered with Harvard, and Staton hopes to expand to more schools in the future.
Staton plans to work as a corporate attorney with a focus on sports law after graduation.
Shequeena McKenzie is a 28-year-old lawyer who has made history by becoming the first ever Black female judge in her city of McComb, Mississippi. She was appointed as the Judge Pro Tem by the city’s selectmen in October 2021, and she also serves as a judge in the neighboring city of Magnolia.
McKenzie’s journey to the bench was not easy. She grew up in McComb, a city with a history of racial violence and discrimination. She faced many challenges and obstacles as a young Black woman pursuing her dream of becoming a lawyer. She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in Political Science and Human Rights, and then attended the Mississippi College School of Law, where she was one of the few Black students.
She said she chose law as a career because she wanted to be the change she wanted to see in the world. “I went to law because I did not want to talk about what wasn’t being done,” she said. “I did not want to sit there and dwell on the negativity, I asked myself what I could do to help out the world.”
She practiced law part-time in Jackson, Mississippi, where she specialized in family law, criminal defense, and civil litigation. She also volunteered as a mentor for young girls and women, and as a lay counselor for people with mental health issues.
She said she was inspired by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first woman, first Black person, and first person of Asian descent to hold the second-highest office in the United States. “It gave me hope watching her,” McKenzie said. “It showed me that anything is possible.” Click here to read more about Shequeena McKenzie.
