Wellesley Phi Delta Phi Magister Brittany Lamon-Paredes '15 and Vice-Magister Adeline Lee '16 Led Group in Establishing the Society at Wellesley

July 10, 2013

This June, Wellesley students successfully chartered a new chapter of Phi Delta Phi, the international legal honors society. Wellesley is the first all-women’s college to start a chapter and one of the first undergraduate institutions to do so.

Phi Delta Phi International was originally founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan to promote “a higher standard of professional ethics” in the legal field, according to its website. The oldest legal society in America, Phi Delta Phi has over 200,000 initiated members throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and Europe. President Theodore Roosevelt, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and Senator Daniel K. Inouye were all initiates.

“As an aspiring attorney, I want to gain knowledge on law school and form camaraderie with other pre-law students,” said Brittany Lamon-Paredes ’15, a political science and anthropology double major and the Magister of the Wellesley chapter. With this motivation, Lamon-Paredes and Vice-Magister Adeline Lee '16 formed an executive board that worked to found Phi Delta Phi at Wellesley College.

In addition to the magister and vice-magister, the executive board includes:

  • Clerk: Sophie Zhang '15 (political science major)
  • Exchequer: Grace Park '16 (undeclared)
  • Historian: Allie Haaz '16 (undeclared)
  • Fundraising Chair: Kalina Deng '14 (philosophy major)
  • Philanthropy Chair: Katie Warshauer '15 (anthropology major)
  • Public Relations Chair: Kwabea Adu-Poku '16 (undeclared)
  • Recruitment Chair: Young-Eun Choi '15 (international relations-economics major)
 

“I was excited about joining Phi Delta Phi because it’s an international community that promotes the study of law,” said Choi. “It’s really nice knowing that we have supporters all over the world.”

Phi Delta Phi “is something I didn’t know I was looking for,” said Public Relations Chair Adu-Poku. “The opportunity to work with lovely people such as those on the E-board, in a field I am interested about, just makes me super excited!”

During the upcoming academic year, the Wellesley group seeks to advocate the legal profession, host practicing attorneys and current law students, foster a relationship with the Wellesley Pre-Law Society, and visit local law schools. All current Wellesley students, from first-years to seniors, can apply for membership in the honors society. You can learn more about upcoming events on the Phi Delta Phi Wellesley Facebook page.