Lamarr Martin always dreamt of becoming a lawyer, and knew nearly as long that Georgia State Law was his ideal school. While attending GSU for his undergraduate degree, he got a job in the campus mailroom and serendipitously, the College of Law was on his route. Every day he would walk through the doors and it wasn’t long before the faculty and staff within the College of Law began feeling like family.
It took Lamarr several attempts at the LSAT but eventually his score was high enough to earn him acceptance for Fall 2016. As the mailman responsible for sending off every student’s acceptance letter, the admissions staff had to be creative and surprised Lamarr by handing him his own. It’s a moment he says he’ll never forget.
Beginning law school is a tough adjustment for most, and Lamarr was not exempt. Ultimately his grades weren’t high enough to return for his second year. But he’s not one to back down from following his dreams, even when it doesn’t go according to plan. He continued to work in the campus mailroom, and waited the required two years before reapplying. In July 2019, Lamarr was re-accepted, and he’s now doing better than ever before on his second chance.
Why did you decide to persevere and work so hard to get back into Georgia State Law?
Because I continued to work in the mailroom, I couldn’t run away from it. Some students take a break and they leave law school and it’s out of their mind. But for me, I had to walk back into the College of Law the next day after getting dismissed. That was my biggest push because it continued to be in front of me every day.
What did you do during those two years to help ensure you would get back in?
I began re-working my classes to see where I had gone wrong. I also began looking online to see if there were any articles or videos related to law school dismissals. To my surprise, there was nothing. So, I had this grand idea to start a YouTube channel. I put everything out there to let people know who were in my same situation that they weren’t alone. I shared tips for how I was improving myself. Several people reached out to me that have been dismissed from law schools all over the U.S. saying they really appreciate my channel.
What is making the difference this time around?
My grades have improved leaps and bounds this year because I’ve taken the past two years to learn better strategies and hone in on what I am learning. Before I had a lot of passive strategies and bad study habits from undergrad. Now I’m doing extra work, practice problems, more writing, and paying more attention to how I prioritize my time.
Now that you’re back at Georgia State Law, what goals to do you have?
I want to help as many people as I can, academically, mentally, and emotionally. From the time I was eight-years-old, I gave the sports teams I was on pep talks before the games. I think helping motivate people is my calling. I would love to work with 1L students who struggled their first semester to show them different strategies and help get their grades up to avoid getting dismissed like I did. I want to be that source of support for others.
Interview by Mara Thompson