National Jurist names W&M's Gum as a Law Student of the Year
Exceptional dedication: In the summer of 2014, Kaylee Gum spent 12 weeks in Iraq interning with the Iraq Access to Justice Project. Photo courtesy of Kaylee Gum
William & Mary Law School student Kaylee R. Gum has been named one of National Jurist magazine’s “Law Students of the Year.” The new accolade recognizes Gum and 24 other law students who give back to their law school or local community.
A member of the Class of 2016, Gum is also a second lieutenant in the Air Force Reserves.
“Kaylee exemplifies what it means to be a citizen lawyer, a concept at the heart of a William & Mary legal education,” said Davison M. Douglas, Dean and Arthur B. Hanson Professor of Law. “Her exceptional dedication to service makes her especially deserving of this award.”
A 2013 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a double major in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic, and a minor in aerospace science, Gum has served with the Moot Court Team and the Journal of Women and the Law. She won the Law School’s annual Bushrod Moot Court competition and had her student note selected for publication.
During two semesters with the Puller Veterans Benefits Clinic, Gum helped 13 injured veterans seeking disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Gum grew up in a military family and spent several years of her childhood living in Germany and Italy. During college, she spent a semester abroad in Jordan and Oman engaged in Diplomacy and Policy Studies and working with a non-governmental organization that focused on good governance and anti-corruption issues.
In the summer of 2014, she spent 12 weeks in Iraq interning with the Iraq Access to Justice Project. When ISIS seized Mosul, security concerns dictated that she relocate from Baghdad to Erbil in northern Iraq.
Upon earning her law degree this May, Gum will serve as an Air Force Judge Advocate, working as a prosecutor within the military system and providing legal services to commanders and active duty service members.
