Laura Evans, a second-year law student in Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law, was one of eight law students nationally to be chosen as one of the 2023 National Jurist’s Law Students of the Year. 

She received the honor after starting Ukrainian Mothers and Children Transport (UMACT) — a volunteer organization that aids Ukrainian refugees in finding homes in the U.S. — in her first year with law professor Michael Bazyler. Evans is the student volunteer director, guiding more than a dozen volunteer Chapman law students and taking charge of administrative work.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Evans told The Panther. “There were only eight chosen, and reading the stories of the others, (I know) I’m surrounded by incredible company. It almost feels surreal to have started something not knowing where it was going to go. Michael and I, we did not have any idea where it was going to go, and then for it to turn into something that got national recognition (is) such an honor.”

After the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war in February 2022, Evans, one of Bazyler’s students, volunteered to help him when he asked the class if anyone wanted to provide aid to Ukrainian refugees. 

Evans and the other student volunteers seek advice from volunteer attorneys from firms across the country as they help Ukrainian refugees.

“(This work is) so rewarding,” Evans said. “It’s incredible. Many tears have been shed — happy tears (and) sometimes sad tears — but (it’s) definitely a rewarding thing to do in a time where this is happening all the way across the globe. It’s very easy to feel helpless. What can we do? What can I do all the way here in California to make a difference for these people?”

Before law school, Evans received her Master of Business Administration at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School at Pepperdine University in 2020, and she has experience working to protect intellectual property. 

“The experience that I bring is around building the most functional team possible, keeping all of our associates happy and engaged and making sure that my people are able to do what they need to do with all of the support that they need to do it,” Evans said.

When choosing the Law Students of the Year, The National Jurist selects students who have provided outstanding service.

Bazyler expressed great pride in Evans’ accomplishment, saying that she deserves the honor of being one of the National Jurist’s Law Students of the Year because of her hard work and dedication.

“It’s amazing. We have 120,000 law students in law schools, (and) she is one of the eight that's been selected,” Bazyler told The Panther. “It’s an incredible honor, and I think it’s something that she deserves because of all the work that she’s put in helping to create this group and all the volunteer time that she has put forward.”

Evans is proud of the work that she and the other student volunteers have accomplished through the volunteer organization.

“Knowing that we’re making a difference — even just for a handful of people — is incredible, and it’s definitely something I’m really proud of,” Evans said. “It’s not just me. I’m super proud of our team; everyone who’s worked hard on this from the beginning. We really are a great team, and I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done. It feels amazing.”