Posted: November 21, 2023
By: Emily MacKinnon
2L student Chantal Peng says an entrance scholarship allowed her to realize her dream of attending law school. 3L student Evan Paulse says his bursary has ripple effects and is not just helping him, but also his growing family in Peru.
Their backgrounds are extremely different. Their experiences could not be further apart. But Chantal Peng (2L) and Evan Paulse (3L) both faced the same barrier: the steep price of law school tuition.
Evan Paulse never expected to be in law school. As a high school student, he struggled with reading and writing. Against the odds, he completed an undergraduate degree at UBC in politics, philosophy and economics, but struggled to find work. He had experience working as a construction laborer but didn’t see himself in that industry long-term. “I’d always had a passion for storytelling and philosophy and engaging with other people,” he says. “I applied to law school as a way of getting out. It was a way of [securing] a professional career afterwards.” He jokes that his collar has gone from blue to white.
Education as ‘the great equalizer’
Long-distance family
To make his vocation even more personal, Paulse and his long-distance partner welcomed a baby girl earlier this year. She and her mother live in Peru while Paulse finishes his law degree and supports them from afar. “The financial assistance allowed me to fly down to Peru and be there when my daughter was born,” Paulse says. “That was really important to me.”
The scholarship alleviated some of Paulse’s financial burden and has had ripple effects for his new family. “It’s not so much that it helps me directly; it’s more that I’ll be able to pass on to my daughter greater opportunities and greater prosperity much sooner,” he says. Paulse emphasizes that you never know what is going on in someone else’s life, and even the smallest gifts can have a big impact on students. “It allows [recipients] to live with greater freedom and autonomy.”
From music to law
Chantal Peng, a 2L student, agrees. Peng studied music at Acadia University before law school. “As a piano major, I really enjoyed performing, but I particularly loved meeting new people and making connections,”
she explains. “I decided to go to law school to tie everything together: people, culture, and social advocacy, which the Schulich School of Law is known for,” she says, referencing the school’s mandatory courses on Indigenous law and African Nova Scotian relations.
Even though Peng knew she wanted to attend law school, she still had to figure out how to make it a reality. Before she received funding, she was living in a constant state of stress and fear, trying to figure out where she would get the money to pay for the rising costs of tuition, books, housing, food and transportation.
Threefold benefit of funding
Equity serves everyone
Peng’s musical and social justice background has intersected with her legal education in myriad ways. She says she is most interested in learning about the ways the Canadian legal system is grappling with Indigenous self-governance and recognition of racialized groups. “As a racialized person myself who is entering the legal field, these courses help inform my decision-making to better support BIPOC groups,” Peng says. “I plan on using my legal career to give back to the community, whether that’s through fundraising, [organizing] informative legal events or volunteering.”
Both Peng and Paulse say they plan to give back when they’re able. “I think it is important to continue the Weldon tradition of unselfish public service, where you use your skillset and financial security to help others,” Peng says.
Paulse agrees and says the advantage of making law school available to more students is far-reaching. “Social mobility, innovation — it all depends on high-quality education being available to everyone.”