Working to Open Doors for All

Article by Jason Roberson Featured Author

Posted December 2023

As a young child, there was a little road adjacent to my family’s single wide trailer where my grandparents owned and operated a group home for young teenage men, both black and white. Many of these teenagers’ parents were incarcerated or addicted to drugs. Growing up, I found myself spending most of my days slowly becoming a part of their extended family. Experiencing their triumphs and adversities was the springboard for my desire to advocate for those who lacked access to resources.

Though I am still young, my life’s work has revolved around helping open doors for others that may not have been as easily accessible or finding opportunities that may have been seen as impossible. The summer prior to my senior year at Morehouse College, I was fortunate enough to intern for Apple as a Program Manager. In that role, I helped redefine Apple’s approach to recruiting students at various minority serving institutions and established an internal database of diverse student organizations.

Without diversity, we lose different perspectives, drive isolation, and place people in boxes, diminishing the American ideal that we can succeed no matter our background. Highlighting diversity, on the other hand, shows us that we are all multifaceted individuals who are more alike than we think. As an aspiring attorney, I will continue my mission to bring equity into every room I enter, be a voice for the voiceless, and to keep fighting to make our world a more just place.

Jason Roberson is a 1L at University of Mississippi School of Law.