Pre-Law Society Helps Lindsey Wilson University Students Chart Path to Law School
Guest speakers, workshops help students prepare for applying to law school, careers in law.
COLUMBIA, Ky. (10/06/2026) — A group of Lindsey Wilson University undergraduate students is working with a professor to forge a clear path for students who want to attend law school.
In its second school year as a student organization, the Pre-Law Society was founded by Carlee Drury '27 to help give the university's aspiring lawyers -- or even students curious about the legal profession -- a place to gather and a source for information.
"It's a great way for all of us to come together," said Drury, who is a criminal justice and political science double major from Providence, Kentucky, and serves as chapter president.
Earlier in the semester, chapter members heard from Samantha Costello, the directing attorney for the Columbia Trial Office of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy.
During her presentation, Costello gave the students an overview of a public defender's role in the legal process, and she also provided tips on how to study for the Law School Admission Test -- commonly known as the LSAT -- and the skills needed for law school.
"Law school does not teach you how to be a lawyer -- it teaches you how to think like a lawyer," Costello told the members gathered in the Thomas D. Clark Reading Room of the Katie A. Murrell Library.
Costello also offered students some practical advice when it comes to navigating the more difficult times in law school.
"Sometimes you just need to call your mom," she said.
Deja vu
Advising the Pre-Law Society is criminal justice professor Casey McGowan '14. For McGowan, the organization must seem like a bit of deja vu, because she started a similar organization when she was a Lindsey Wilson undergraduate in the early 2010s.
"I like to connect with them as a mentor and help them do all the pre-law things they need to do and stay on a path toward applying to law school," said McGowan, who earned her law degree from Emory University.
As an example, McGowan is holding workshops on Oct. 23-24 to help prepare students to apply for law school admission. In the spring, she plans to hold workshops on taking the LSAT, so students can prepare to take the examination in the summer or fall.
McGowan also aims to help students realize that there is more to the legal profession than law school.
"Students might not want to be an attorney, but they have an interest in knowing what else might be available to them because they want to work in the law," she said.
Some of the organization's members have already spent time working in law offices, such as Jack Holland '27 of Gamaliel, Kentucky.
"I've enjoyed the work helping people with deeds and estate planning because you feel like you're making a difference," said Holland, a Christian ministries and political science major who serves as the group's vice president.
Fellow Pre-Law Society member Esley Cornelius '27, he said the opportunity to shadow at Costello's office has opened his eyes to the law and helped guide his next step.
"It's given me a better understanding of the law, and it's given me an idea of what I would like to focus on in law school," said Cornelius, who is a criminal justice major from Paducah, Kentucky, and also serves as the group's treasurer.
For other students, such as Brycen Bates '29 of Lexington, Kentucky, law is a kind of family business as both of his parents are attorneys.
"I got to attend a trial with my mom, and that changed my perspective about the law," said Bates, who is the group's secretary.
Being a member of the Pre-Law Society has also given Cadence Groce '27 career counsel. Groce, who is the group's public relations officer, plans to take a gap year before starting law school.
"This has helped me think more about what I will need to do during the gap year to prepare and study for my LSAT," said Groice, who is a criminal justice and gender and cultural studies double major from Somerset, Kentucky.
Although much of the Pre-Law Society members' focus is on preparing for law school and learning from practicing attorneys, the group has scheduled moments of levity. They will screen the 2001 film "Legally Blonde" in early November.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university's 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
Media Attachments
Members of the Lindsey Wilson University Pre-Law Society hear from Samantha Costello, the directing attorney for the Columbia Trial Office of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy, during a recent meeting in the Thomas D. Clark Reading Room of the Katie A. Murrell Library.