​Former Badger Graduates Law School at 24

Another graduate took the stage this May, but not at Badger stadium - because he already walked it! Twenty-four-year-old Robert Wayne Lewis Jr, LHS Class of 2017, graduated a week before the Badger class of 2024 from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law. He is now studying for the Bar, scheduled for July, after which he plans to specialize in Criminal Law.
Lewis was 11 years old when his father passed away, and that was the same year he told his mother, Kat Boyd, he wanted to be a lawyer. “I wanted to become a lawyer since I was around 9 or 10 years old,” he remembers. “Initially, it was for superficial reasons like appearing grown-up or making lots of money. By age 11, I genuinely valued aspects of the profession…My initial interest evolved into a genuine respect for persuasion, compromise, and human psychology, all integral to the legal profession.“ Kat recalls the day similarly. “I said wow that’s great, work hard stay focused and it can come to pass sooner than later,” remarked Kat. “I thought as years went by he would possibly change his mind, however he did not, and that’s the main reason he is so young to graduate law school.” Lewis attended Concordia University out of high school, maintaining a 3.8 GPA and scoring well on the LSAT, earning himself a full-ride scholarship to the law school of his choice. “I chose TMSL because that school is a diverse college,” said Lewis. “The most challenging was not having any members of my family in Law, so I had no relatives to guide me through the process of law school, as many of my classmates did. I attended law school as the 1st person ever in our family and that made it difficult, but I knew it was going to be challenging.”
Lewis was never one to shy away from a challenge, wasting no time reaching his goals. “I took college courses at Lampasas High and I had 3 months of school left for my Associates [when I graduated], so when summer came I took the classes and received my Associates soon after graduation.” During his time at Concordia, Lewis also completed an unpaid internship at the Texas Capitol during the 86th Legislative Sessions. “My university matched me, not directly with a representative or senator, but a senate committee. I worked as an intern for the Veteran Affairs and Border Security Committee,” said Lewis. “Our tasks included organizing documents for committee meetings, proofreading the assistant's documents, tracking important legislation, taking calls from constituents, and occasionally getting coffee…Overall, interning offers valuable connections, learning experiences, and great food, almost making the ‘unpaid’ aspect worth it.”
When asked how he managed to endure it all, Lewis had this to say - “The toughest obstacle was just ensuring I kept focused, knowing it will take awhile to get through law school. However,  the support of my Mom and family members always cheering me on helped out immensely.” His mother Kat commented, “My son was very studious not into Athletics, however he was proud to be a Badger and rooted for the teams…I am one proud Mama mainly due to the reason he never allowed others to distract [him from] his dreams. He set the goal at age 11 and I mean no one could influence him to do things he knew would put him at risk of not succeeding, and I am so proud of that. Now my granddaughter that’s 8 says she wants her Uncle to hood her when she graduates law school as she attended the ceremony as well.”
Lewis leaves recent Badger grads with this advice: “My advice is to always remember - don’t think you can’t do anything, even if it’s something you’re unfamiliar with, because if it’s something you want then you make sure you put in the work to get the return you dream of. If you don’t put in the work and allow others to distract you then you fall behind and it may take longer for that dream to happen. Family is important whether blood or not. As I say, blood is ‘we’re related,’ loyalty is family. So no matter your support system always be around people that want the best for you.” - MG

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