“I am from Vidor, a small town in southeast Texas. After I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, I taught high school for a year in my hometown. It ultimately wasn’t for me, but it was an eye-opening experience and it made me more interested in getting involved in my community.

As a teacher, you see students in tough situations, but you can only do so much. Because of this, I decided to run for mayor my second semester of teaching. I was beaten handily, but I was proud of the effort I put towards helping my community. After the election and I concluded my first year of teaching, I decided I wanted to go to law school because it would give me more skills and resources to make a difference for others.

I am starting my third year of law school this fall and will be serving as the Student Bar Association (SBA) president. Law school is challenging, and SBA has been my biggest outlet. My first year, I helped with bringing back the law school ping pong tournament, and this last year I served as vice president.

In my perspective, there are two important things SBA does. First, we are able to advocate for students in a way where the administration is more likely to listen. Second, we help with building community in our graduate program. I really enjoy being a part of hosting fun events that bring people from different backgrounds together so that they can connect with one another.

Law school is hard and being able to enjoy the people you are around is an important part of getting through it. And beyond that, these are the people we will be practicing with in the future, so it’s important that we build good relationships with them.

I am not 100% sure of where my career will take me, but the skills I am gaining through SBA leadership will benefit me no matter where I end up.”

 — Seth LaPray, third-year S.J. Quinney College of Law student and 2024-25 Student Bar Association President