Allyson Thompson

One of the top-performing students in her class, Allyson has been on the Dean’s List every semester, won the CALI Award in Legal Writing in the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, won the CALI Award in Business Organizations in spring 2018, and was inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu. She has served as an academic tutor for two different first-year legal courses and as a legal research assistant researching and drafting works on military law and the constitutionality of government actions.

Allyson served as development coordinator for Stand Up For Each Other! (SUFEO), a student organization at the law school that advocates for Chicago Public School students involved in disciplinary proceedings. She is an active member of the Loyola Community Law Center and graduated summa cum laude from Purdue University in 2015 with a bachelor’s in psychological sciences and minors in both Spanish as well as law and society.

Here, Allyson talks about how she plans to use her education for good—and what her experience with SUFEO throughout law school taught her.

What was the most meaningful volunteer, service, or student organization activity you’ve been involved in? How has it influenced you or shaped you as a person?

SUFEO strives to reduce the use of out-of-school suspensions to keep young people in school and ensure that students receive the accommodations and services to which they are entitled to ensure that they succeed in school. In SUFEO, I represented many parents and children at school meetings and mediations. I trained law students to be advocates for students and parents, and helped facilitate a training in an at-risk community to ensure that parents are aware of their children’s education-related rights. My experiences help me recognize injustices that occur in schools, the need for legal services in at-risk communities—and the incredible impact that a lawyer, and even a law student, can make.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from your Jesuit education?

Regardless of your career path, you have the power to use your education for good.

What do you hope to achieve after college, and how has Loyola prepared you?

I plan to work in health law. In addition to doctrinal knowledge, or “book smarts,” Loyola has helped me to develop practical knowledge and skills that will carry over into my career.