Being a part of the LEAP program isn’t just about preparing for a career in law –it’s about learning to see the world through a new lens. I came to understand this during a presentation in Professor Yawn’s UNIV 1101 Pre-Law class, where LEAP Ambassadors Olivia McCaughan and Michelle Moya outlined the program and highlighted the wide range of opportunities it offers.
Through LEAP, students gain access to experiences that prepare them for the future—ranging from civic engagement, like volunteering at the Main Street Program’s Scare on the Square (which I look forward to participating in this October), to hearing from special guest speakers, to interning in Washington, D.C., Austin, and local government. I was especially delighted to learn that LEAP is not limited to students pursuing law school, but is open to anyone interested in making a difference in their community through civic work. LEAP members don’t volunteer to meet a quota, but rather to get involved in ways that are meaningful, impactful, and connected to their communities.
My first-year experience has also been shaped by UNIV 1101, a pre-law course designed to introduce students to the field. Professor Yawn’s daily quizzes extend a vast array of subjects, from LSAT prep to Emotional Intelligence to LEAP Ambassadors Olivia Discon and Michelle Moya’s Parasailing trip. True to law school style, at the end of each short quiz, students are called on to announce their answers to the class! On a whole, Univ 1101 has proven to be a very detail-oriented class, reminding our group of prospective lawyers the importance of every detail, even those that seem menial.
This focus on preparation carried into another highlight of my week: attending my first Pre-Law Society meeting alongside several of my UNIV 1101 classmates. We learned about several prospective law schools, including the University of Houston Law Center, South Texas College of Law, and Texas Tech Law, directly from their admissions representatives. We even received Pre-Law Society t-shirts, signifying our official place in the program! I also had the chance to meet our organization’s leaders as they reviewed the agenda and introduced our guest speakers.
As Michelle Moya explained, the Pre-Law Society is just one branch of the broader LEAP program. I’m eager to explore each branch throughout my four years at Sam Houston, confident that every experience—whether in the classroom, the community, or beyond—will bring me closer to the leader and lawyer I aspire to be.
Olivia McCaughan, Allison Plunk, and Michelle Moya
LEAP Ambassadors enjoy learning in the classroom, a fact made evident by a collective 3.81 GPA. But the special part of the program is the learning outside of the classroom, where we work to expand our professional networks, learn new information, and venture outside our comfort zones. Such outcomes were on full display at the World Affairs Council‘s “Inside the CIA” event featuring Michael Ard.
A former CIA Analyst now teaching international affairs at Johns Hopkins University, Ard took us on a far-ranging tour of the CIA and the world in a discussion facilitated by everyone’s favorite moderator, Ronan O’Malley.
The CIA oversees 11 centers and undertakes, according to Ard, four major activities:
Analysis
Collection
Covert Action
Counterintelligence
Obviously, these actions involve sensitive operations, and Ard noted that this can lead to conflict with the rest of the world, the Congress, and, most notably, the President. The President relies heavily on the CIA, and when operations do not go well, it can lead to negative consequences for the Chief Executive, which can, in turn, lead to strained relationships. Nixon, in particular, was distrustful, a fact punctuated by Ard, when he quoted Nixon: “What are those clowns in Langley doing? Reading the newspaper?”
But it wasn’t just Nixon: JFK felt burned after The Bay of Pigs disaster in Cuba; Congress was disillusioned during the Church Hearings in the 1970s, when many of the CIA’s activities came to light; and George W. Bush, according to Ard, was sorely disappointed in the CIA’s investigation into Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Iraq.
Speaking of which, during Q&A, the audience asked whether the Bush Administration put pressure on the CIA to find what it wanted to find: WMD. Ard said, “No.”
He encouraged the audience to read the Silberman-Robb report, noting that the biggest problem in Iraq was that Hussein wanted some countries (his regional enemies) to believe he had WMD, and he wanted us to believe he didn’t. This caused him to act with much furtiveness, which was then interpreted as guilty behavior. It wasn’t correct, he noted, but it was a reasonable conclusion.
Ard was also asked whether any movies get the CIA right. The former analyst noted he doesn’t watch a lot of movies, and he was generally dismissive (“they’re movies”), but he noted that “Argo” had the right feel, and “The Sum of All Fears” captured some of the banter among analysts.
Following the event, Dr. Ard put on his professorial hat, and spoke to us as students for a while.
Even as he noted the challenges associated with recent budget cuts, he was encouraging, prompting us to dream big, take opportunities, and to be assertive in putting our goals into action.
At the beginning of each semester, the Pre-Law Society hosts an informational for those who are considering a future involving law school. For the past year and a half, the person leading this informational has been President Olivia Discon, and she again welcomed returning and prospective members.
She also did her usual effective job at describing the organization, highlighting upcoming events, and providing an overview of how to prepare for law school. Highlighting the organization, Discon stressed that the commitment is purposefully light: one official meeting per month. For those with more time and ambition, however, there are at least as many unofficial meetings–socials, mock LSATs, simulated law classes, live hearings, and guest speakers. The goal is to allow students to obtain the information they need but have the time necessary to study for the LSAT.
Indeed, this semester is likely to bring the usual share of events. These include:
September 17: “How to Get Into Law School,” with Admissions Deans from Texas Tech Law, University of Houston Law, and South Texas College of Law;
October 15: “Law at the Local Level”
November 19: Litigation in Action
Moreover, students will have the opportunity to try out for Moot Court (September 8), and if they make it, they will have a scrimmage (October 11-12) and a live tournament at Texas A&M Law. The organization and its parent department, LEAP, will also host a Mock LSAT (October 4), and will likely participate with the Student Legal & Mediation Services for conflict resolution seminars.
Perhaps the most useful information provided by the Pre-Law Society, however, is information pertaining to the law-school path. Throughout a student’s college career, the Pre-Law Society and the LEAP Center offers services that help students achieve their goals. This includes a lending library, scholarships for prep courses, law-school advising, and workshops.
To join PLS, new members pay $55 and returning members $25. Hard-working co-treasurers Jacob Wessels and Olivia McCaughan are available:
Tuesdays: 12:30-4:15
Wednesdays: 12-4
Thursdays: 2:00-4:15
They will also take dues from 5-6pm on September 17, the date of the first official meeting–and, importantly, the last date to pay dues.
After the informational meeting, students had the ability to chat one-on-one with Pre-Law Society Officers and members. Many students who joined us gained a hopeful view on their future from like-minded individuals.
To stay up to date and involved with upcoming events and information, you can follow our Instagram @prelawsocietyshsu. For more information and questions, please contact President, Ms. Olivia Discon, at Oliviadiscon@shsu.edu.
On September 3, 2025, Pre-Law Society kicked off the 2025 fall semester with an Ice Cream Social to welcome new, curious and returning members, providing an opportunity to learn more about what Pre-Law Society and LEAP is and offers its students.
The first official meeting for the fall semester will be held on September 17, 2025, giving students enough time to pay their dues and get a proper grasp of everything the two programs offer.
At 4:00p.m., the Ice Cream Social welcomed members and potential members in the Holcombe Room, providing various sweet treats, beverages, a prize wheel, and inspirational smiles.
This semester’s event brought many students from various backgrounds to share their ideas and questions with other like-minded students, which in return, caused students to leave with turning their goals into actions and worries into motivations.
Beyond greeting, students have the chance to check in, grab a treat and win a prize.
The prizes ranged from bronze to silver to gold, all including useful stationery and accessories. These prizes were created by LEAP ambassadors, Michelle Cardenas, Olivia Discon, and Olivia McCaughan. The wheel and prize area created a communication space for newer students to become familiar with networking, and to express questions, ideas, and goals for their future.
While people always enjoy some good ice cream, toppings, cookies, and brownies…
…the nicest aspect of the event was the socializing that took place. Everywhere we looked, there were conversations, information exchanged, and smiles.
Indeed, this environment must have been motivational, because by the end of the evening, the Pre-Law Society had 38 members, in what we hope is a record-breaking membership year!
Community leaders help preserve history, and today, members of the Sons of the Republic of Texas, Henderson Yoakum Chapter, gathered at Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville to honor the birthday and legacy of Henderson Yoakum. The ceremony featured remarks from Tom Rogers of the Walker County Historical Commission, Mac Woodward, a descendant of Yoakum, event organizer Donna Coffen, and historian Dr. Caroline Crimm in front of an audience of 30-40 community members, descendants, and others interested in Texas history.
Born in Tennessee in 1810, Henderson King Yoakum graduated from West Point in 1832 before pursuing law and politics in Murfreesboro, serving as mayor (1837) and in the Tennessee Senate (1839–45), where he advocated for Texas annexation. After relocating to Huntsville, Texas, in 1845, he established his legal career, helped make Huntsville the county seat, served as penitentiary director, and drafted Austin College’s charter, serving as its trustee (1849–56). In 1855, he authored a landmark two‑volume History of Texas covering its first settlement through annexation.
The ceremony went through these accomplishments and others, with Mac Woodward highlighting some of Yoakum’s descendants…
…Dr. Crimm providing a context for Yoakum’s accomplishments and today’s ceremony…
…and Tom Rogers and Donna Coffen illustrating the work done by the Walker County Historical Commission.
The event served as a needed reminder of Henderson Yoakum’s contributions to both local and state history, while also providing a community gathering for those who preserve Huntsville’s rich legacy.
Introduction Our trip through New England and New York was as much a journey through art and history as it was through towns and landscapes. We ended the day in the capitol (Albany) of one of the largest states in the Union, but we began it in the Rockwellian cottage of Stockbridge, MA–the home town of Norman Rockwell.
LEAP Ambassadors at City Hall
Norman Rockwell Museum
By Michelle Moya
For our first stop in Stockbridge, we visited the Norman Rockwell Museum. Before the trip, I had watched a documentary on Rockwell’s life and career, which gave me a deeper appreciation for what we were about to see. It traced his progression from lighthearted Saturday Evening Post covers to later works that confronted civil rights and human rights, and it gave me a better foundation for understanding the galleries.
The museum’s collection highlights Rockwell’s most iconic pieces, including the Four Freedoms series. Inspired by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 speech, these four paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Want, Freedom to Worship, and Freedom from Fear—remain some of his most recognizable works. Each takes a sweeping political idea and places it in the context of everyday life.
Freedom of Speech shows an ordinary man rising to speak at a town meeting, who appears to have a modest jacket and steady expression. Freedom from Want was Olivia’s favorite: the Thanksgiving turkey at the center of the table, family gathered in warmth and abundance. Freedom to Worship and Freedom from Fear are quieter but equally moving, offering a reminder of how Rockwell could find dignity in ordinary moments.
My own favorite was Main Street, Stockbridge at Christmas, Rockwell’s portrait of his hometown blanketed in snow and glowing with holiday lights. It is a beautiful painting, and as someone who loves Christmas, I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to actually visit Stockbridge during the season. It captures Rockwell at his most nostalgic, and it made me want to see the town in person during my favorite holiday.
Some of Rockwell’s later and more serious work also stood out. The Problem We All Live With, sometimes called his “Board of Education” painting, shows six-year-old Ruby Bridges walking to school, escorted by U.S. Marshals. The white wall behind her, scrawled with a racial slur and marked by a thrown tomato, makes the scene even more striking.
There were lighter touches as well. The museum includes some of Rockwell’s early commercial work, such as advertisements for Edison Mazda Lamps published in The Saturday Evening Post. These remind visitors that Rockwell was as much an illustrator as a painter, and that his storytelling instincts carried across everything he created.
A special highlight was the I Spy exhibition by Walter Wick, whose intricate dioramas and search-and-find photographs were a fun, interactive touch for children and adults. The exhibit encouraged visitors to slow down and look closely, much like Rockwell’s paintings.
It was interesting to see how the Norman Rockwell Museum fully captures the range of his career. In one place, you can see the playful, the iconic, and the deeply serious. Between Olivia’s favorite “Freedom from Want” and my own liking to “Main Street, Stockbridge at Christmas,” it was clear how Rockwell continues to connect with people in different ways.
Mass MoCA
by Olivia Discon
Our final (pure) art stop of the trip was Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art), a museum housed in a former industrial complex that has been repurposed into one of the largest centers for contemporary art in the country.
The building itself is a bit of a maze (ed. note: she got lost), but that only added to the fun of exploring it.
We started with James Turrell’s Roden Crater-inspired exhibit, which featured several surreal experiences centered on light and perception. One room, completely blacked out, challenged visitors to sit in total darkness for 15 minutes. While Professor Yawn and Stephanie lasted the full time, Moya and I called it quits after approximately eight minutes. In the silence, I started to see faint colors—likely just the brain reacting like when you rub your eyes too hard—but still interesting.
Other Turrell works played with color and depth perception.
One installation allowed us to walk into what looked like a glowing square of color—an endless void of pinks, greens, and yellows.
We also stepped into one of his classic Skyspaces, where the ceiling frames the sky in a way that turns shifting clouds and colors into living art.
Beyond Turrell, the museum offered much more. Louise Bourgeois’s exhibit was a highlight for me, especially her piece Entangled, which captured so much emotion through abstract form.
Sol LeWitt’s sprawling wall drawings filled a labyrinthine gallery with bold patterns in both black-and-white and vibrant colors.
We even wandered into a “music room” filled with instruments past their prime—though that didn’t stop us from making enough noise to temporarily damage our own hearing.
Mass MoCA was a perfect way to end the art portion of our trip: immersive, challenging, and just plain fun.
New York State Capitol
by Olivia Discon
For our final state of the trip, we made our way up to New York. Driving past the Hudson River on the way into Albany felt especially fitting, since the river inspired the Hudson River School painters and many transcendentalist writers, both of which we’ve touched on during this trip.
Our last stop was the New York State Capitol, one of only nine state capitols without a dome. Built over more than three decades and designed by multiple architects, the building makes up for its lack of dome with incredible stonework and elaborate detail. The grand staircase was particularly striking, lit by lamps with exposed bulbs, a symbol of modernity in its time.
Although the House and Senate chambers were closed, we managed to peek through the glass doors. The stained glass in the Assembly chamber stood out as especially beautiful, making it one of my favorite legislative chambers we’ve seen so far. The Capitol also houses the Hall of Governors, a portrait gallery of past governors—including four who went on to serve as U.S. presidents.
Art is woven throughout the building as well. We saw numerous New York landscapes and scenes…
…along with modern sculptures outside in the Empire State Plaza. Among the recognizable artists were George Rickey, Alexander Calder…
Claes Oldenburg….
…and Ellsworth Kelly.
The New York State Capitol was a wonderful conclusion to our trip. Between the history, the architecture, and the art, it was a reminder of how much one place can tell us about both state and national identity.
Concluding Thoughts
Taken together, the Norman Rockwell Museum, Mass MoCA, and the New York State Capitol highlighted the remarkable range of American creativity and civic expression.
Rockwell’s art reminded us of the power of storytelling in everyday life, while Mass MoCA challenged us to step outside the familiar and embrace new ways of seeing.
The New York State Capitol, with its blend of politics, history, and art, grounded the trip in the institutions that shape public life.
Each stop added its own layer to our journey, leaving us with a deeper appreciation for how art and architecture reflect the spirit of their time—and continue to inspire today.
Every year on the first Monday in September, Americans celebrate Labor Day. While some celebrate with a long weekend of end-of-summer festivities, the Holiday originated as a tribute to the social and economic achievements of our nation’s workers.
The Lions Club and the LEAP Ambassadors celebrate the day by planting flags–early in the morning–across the extended downtown in Huntsville, an activity undertaken on most major holidays.
11th Street, Looking East (6:20am)
For us, it is not only a community-building exercise, but also a way to remind people the meaning behind their day off work.
Michelle Moya Plants the Final Flag
Starting with municipal ordinances in the mid‑1880s and pioneering state laws—Oregon led the way in 1887, followed by states like Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York—more states followed suit. By 1894, 23 states had adopted the holiday—what political scientists call “policy diffusion”—and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed the law making the first Monday in September a national holiday.
Lion Liesa Hackett Distributes Flags to Runners
There’s a rivalry of sorts over who first proposed the idea—Peter J. McGuire (a noted labor leader) suggested a “general holiday for the laboring classes,” while others credit Matthew Maguire, secretary of a local union, with proposing the concept in the same year. Regardless, it was the Central Labor Union in New York City that organized the first Labor Day parade, held on September 5, 1882, setting the celebratory template of processions, picnics, and public speeches.
Over time, Labor Day has evolved into an annual celebration of American labor or, at least, a day free from labor. For the Lions Club—and by extension, the LEAP Ambassadors—it’s also a way to build stronger communities and remind people the meaning behind the holiday.
Lions and LEAP Ambassadors/Students
The LEAP Center thanks the Lions Club for permitting them to assist with the Flag Project.
The LEAP Center is known for its interdisciplinary adventures, and today was no different, as we visited another state capitol, the estate of literary lion, and a Guatemalan restaurant–in Hartford, CT, no less!
Connecticut State House
Nestled in the 41-acre Bushnell Memorial Park in Hartford, the Connecticut State Capitol first welcomed the General Assembly in January 1879 after eight years of planning and construction. A commission formed in 1871 selected architect Richard M. Upjohn, whose father also worked on the Boston Commons, providing us with generational and geographical continuity, even as we visit different sites built in different locations.
James G. Batterson supervised construction, and he significantly altered Upjohn’s design. Using marble and granite from New England, he built a beautiful sculpture that prompted the New York Times to note, that in the sun, the building “sparkled like a fairy palace of frost work.”
It didn’t sparkle on the day we visited; it rained, which also discouraged us from getting a shot of the exterior, but the LEAP Ambassadors of 2018 took a photo on a similar trip.
The building features a gold-leaf dome, and the structure is sometimes referred to as “high Victorian” and sometimes as “Eastlake,” a confusion caused, in part, by the competing visions of the architect and construction supervisor.
Both the exterior and interior feature emblems of the state’s past. One of the more interesting of these is the Charter Oak. Connecticut had a royal charter that largely gave it control over its own governance, but this was threatened in the late 1600s, when King James II tried to revoke the Charter and exert more control. When the King’s men tried to take the Charter, the colonists–Captain Joseph Wadsworth, in particular–took the document and hid it in a white oak tree, which is, not surprisingly, the state tree.
That tree became known as the Charter Oak, and although a storm toppled the tree in 1856, the wood was used to create other items, some of which can be found in the capitol. Its image is also featured on the state’s quarter and on a stamp.
Of course, the Capitol also houses both legislative chambers—the State Senate Chamber and the Hall of the House of Representatives—as well as offices for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Secretary of the State.
It also houses “The Genius of Connecticut,” a 17 foot, 10 inch statue created by Randolph Rogers. The winged figure holds immortalis in her right hand; a mountain laurel (the state flower) in her right; and her head is wreathed in leaves from the white oak.
Formerly, “The Genius of Connecticut” was perched atop the capitol, but she was removed following a hurricane. The statue was melted to make ammunition during World War II. Fortunately, however, the original plaster model was found, and in 2009, a replica of the original was returned to the capitol, albeit in the rotunda rather than in the cupola/dome.
Aurora’s Restaurant
Texans believe that eating Latino cuisine outside of a border state is questionable at best and potentially dangerous. But we are not faint of heart, and we know that immigrants who know food are not limited in where they settle, so we happily braved the rain to visit Aurora’s Restaurant, which serves Guatemalan food, in Hartford, Connecticut.
The staff were welcoming and courteous. They spoke Spanish when not speaking to us, adding to what would prove to be a rewarding an authentic culinary experience.
We sampled a variety of dishes, including the Burrito Bowl, Tortillas con Chorizo, an Aurora Bowl, and plantains–the latter drizzled with crema and topped with queso fresca. All of the dishes were excellent, but the plantains were among the best we had ever had.
We left with full stomachs, and also ever more aware that, to paraphrase Mark Twain, travel is fatal to preconceptions.
Mark Twain House
by Olivia Discon
Samuel Clemens—better known as Mark Twain—was one of America’s most influential authors and storytellers. His works such The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Life on the Mississippi are classics. But while his writing is widely known, fewer people know about the man himself, the life he led, or his stunning Victorian home in Hartford, Connecticut.
We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, but our tour guide, Josh, brought the house to life with vivid stories. The home has had many lives—at one point an apartment building, later a school, and even a library—before being restored as a museum. Over time, renovations stripped away original touches, including designs by Louis Comfort Tiffany (which, to my dismay, were once considered unfashionable). Thankfully, the museum has worked to restore the home as closely as possible to how it looked when the Clemens family lived there, guided in part by the memories of their daughter, Clara.
The library was the most charming room. Its mantelpiece, a hand-carved work from Ireland, is extravagant. Whimsical portraits—a cat, a rabbit, and a woman in blue affectionately named Eveline by the Clemens daughters–hung on the walls. Each night, Twain would spin bedtime stories using these characters. If he ever repeated a storyline, his daughters would call him out, forcing him to start fresh. According to Josh, Twain may have done this intentionally just to test whether they were paying attention. The library also included a small conservatory filled with greenery, along with a decorative frog—a playful nod to Twain’s famous short story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.
We also visited Twain’s office, which doubled as his billiard room. It was here that he wrote, smoked cigars, played pool, and paced while working through drafts. A shelf of cubbies held his unfinished manuscripts—something I secretly envied.
The house also carries the weight of the family’s tragedies. Their daughter Susy died of meningitis in the home at just 24 years old. And, owing to financial difficulties, the family eventually had to sell the home, much to Twain’s chagrin.
Even with its history of sorrow, Twain often described the Hartford house as the setting for some of the happiest years of his life. It was, he noted, “the loveliest home that ever was.” Walking through its cozy, richly detailed rooms, we found ourselves understanding that sentiment.
Photo Ops
Following our day in Hartford, we headed north, toward Stockbridge, MA, preparing ourselves for another full day tomorrow. But along the way, we stopped to see Herman Melville’s home, “Arrowhead”…
Herman Mellville’s “Arrowhead,” (Photo by Daderot)
…and “The Mount,” the home of Edith Wharton.
Edit Wharton’s “The Mount” (Photo by David Dashiell)
Concluding Thoughts
It’s difficult to organize disparate adventures into a memorable and cohesive learning experience. But through some preparation, a desire for new experiences, and an open mind, we managed to see quite a lot and assimilate almost as much. A beautiful state capitol designed by Richard M. Upjohn, a great Guatemalan restaurant in the heart of Hartford, and the “loveliest home that ever was” by the quintessential American author–all in the day of LEAP Ambassador.
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