Post by: Anna Edwards
My name is Anna Edwards and I am a 1L student at Regent University School of Law. I was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Non-Profit Leadership. Before attending law school, I had the privilege of working for a global nonprofit organization in East Africa. While working in East Africa, a desire has surfaced within me to lay my life down and partner with God as he brings emotional, spiritual, physical, and mental freedom to his people. My initial plan was to move from America to East Africa to work for a global nonprofit missions organization. I desired to abandon the world’s definition of success and devote my whole life to love and serve God and his people. However, I was ignorant that becoming a missionary abroad was not the only way to devote my life to service.During my second three-month stint in East Africa, I was heavily exposed to human rights violations such as child marriages and female genital mutilation. It was through this experience that God began to open my eyes to the depth of injustice faced by many of His children abroad. God began to reveal to me that I was to attend law school and obtain a legal education and become a surrendered instrument of God to bring spiritual and physical freedom to His people. My perspective shifted as I realized that truly loving and serving God looks like pouring out my everyday life and gifts before God, rooting myself in Him as He faithfully leads me into the fullness of what He wants to do through my life. I believe I am to make Him known to others by being an intercessor for the Lord’s justice and liberty for His people.
Attending law school was a greater leap of faith for me than moving to East Africa, but it has quickly become one of the steps I am the most grateful for. At Regent, I have discovered the passions God has placed within me to serve Him are not exclusive from the legal skills He has granted me. I desire to use my degree as an instrument surrendered to the Lord so that His name is multiplied among the nations and generations. I hope to work with individuals across the globe by advocating for the acknowledgment of their humanity and injustices committed against them while also working towards the implementation and continuation of the rule of law in third world countries.
This semester I have the privilege of joining the student staff of Center for Global Justice, which was a determining factor in my decision to attend Regent. I am humbled by the opportunity to be trained and equipped by professors and classmates that model what it looks like to be a peace seeker and a defender of truth. This spring, I am honored to be working on a project for the International Justice Mission through researching the number of human trafficking victims per country in Eastern Europe reported by different international enforcement bodies. This research will help accomplish my team’s goal of supplying research on current legislation and identifying gaps concerning compensation and rehabilitation measures for victims of human trafficking in Eastern Europe.This semester I am excited to continue discovering how the passions God has placed within me to advocate for the oppressed in society merge with the skills and opportunities presented in the legal field. I am truly grateful to attend a law school that provides students with exposure to the field of human rights law and raises up a generation of attorneys that believe in justice for all people.
This post was written by a Center for Global Justice Student Staff Member. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University, Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.