Teaming practicing attorneys of color with diverse students in high school, college, and law school, the Tiered Community Mentoring Program, made possible through the Mass Bar Association, seeks to offer guidance and resources for students to make informed decisions regarding their futures and careers. The collaboration between the Bar Association and local schools and universities was implemented in order to give inner-city students an opportunity to learn about the legal field through hands-on experiences.
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Want to learn more about the Criminal Justice Program at RCC? Contact: Nunotte Zama, Criminal Justice Department Chair at nzama@rcc.mass.edu or call 617-427-0060 ext. 5124
“For anyone interested in law, it is a great start,” says Kerby Forges, who graduated from RCC in May and will begin studying law at UMass Boston this Fall. Forges credits the program with providing RCC students with resources regarding the law school admission process and an inside view of the practice of law through their attorney mentors. As a member, he recalls sitting in on the appeal for a criminal case, shadowing attorneys in the court room, and touring the State House and the Senate Chambers as well, all experiences he might not have had if not for RCC and Mass Bar.
RCC has participated in the program since its inception in 2009, providing our Criminal Justice students like Forges with access to legal professionals who can help to educate them on many of the career opportunities available to them. The program’s focus on building a diverse mentoring network for its participants provides students with a comfortable atmosphere to cultivate relationships with successful criminal justice professionals. “Our student’s first contact with a judge shouldn’t be as a defendant,” says Professor Nunotte Zama, one of the program’s academic advisors at RCC.
Through the Tiered Community Mentoring Program, students have had the opportunity to sit in on real cases and interact with immigration attorneys, the Governor’s legal counsel, FBI, ATF, Superior Court Judges, and CORI professionals, among other professionals. Alumni of the program at RCC have gone on to study law at Northeastern University, Newbury College, and other institutions.
