Brooke Anderson, a third-year student at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, has been named the 2026-27 Reybitz Fellow, an opportunity that will help her build on her interest in business law through mentorship and practical experience.
Anderson will receive a $1,250 stipend during both the fall and spring semesters. She will also be mentored by Ronald Reybitz ’96, gain hands-on experience in business advising, and help plan programs and activities for the school’s Business Advising Program.
The fellowship builds on a connection Anderson made with Reybitz during her second year of law school, when he visited campus for a program on utility law. It was an area of business law she had never considered, but their conversation stayed with her.
“Finding your niche is what makes you successful, and being really, really good at something can take you places,” Anderson recalled learning from Reybitz. “I’m really excited to work with him and continue our connection, especially as I graduate.”
As she prepares to make the jump from law school to practice, Anderson wants to learn more about the parts of being an attorney that can’t always be taught in a classroom. That includes building trust with clients, offering honest advice and developing a strong professional reputation.
“I want to learn how to be the best advocate for clients while being personable and realistic,” she said. “Law school is a lot different from practicing every day, so I’m looking forward to learning from him how to be a lawyer.”
Anderson has already spent much of her time at Widener Law Commonwealth putting business law into practice. She is president of the Business Law Society and is returning for her second year on the law school’s transactional competition team.
The team gives students the chance to negotiate the terms of a proposed business deal against students from other law schools. They exchange and revise letters of intent, work through issues involving intellectual property and price and try to reach an agreement before a panel of judges.
For Anderson, the experience confirmed that she was drawn to working across the negotiating table.
“It’s not just about what you want. It’s also about finding a solution,” she said. “I’ve always known I wanted to be a table negotiator, rather than be in the courtroom every day. I really enjoyed it.”
Classes such as mergers and acquisitions and business organizations helped build that interest, but Anderson said some of her most valuable lessons came from getting involved outside the classroom.
She joined the Business Law Society as a first-year representative, served as treasurer during her second year and became president during her third year. Through the organization’s events, she learned just how broad business law can be, including legal work involving school districts, health care, bankruptcy, entertainment and utilities.
“Going to these events and networking with people is important to help you find your niche,” Anderson said. “I would never have known that representing school districts as a solicitor was a possible career path, or about all these other areas, if I hadn’t gotten involved.”
Now that she is leading the organization, Anderson wants newer students to have those same opportunities as early as possible. After seeing strong interest from the incoming class, she expanded the Business Law Society’s first-year representative program. Instead of choosing one representative for the entire class, she selected one from each section, including the evening division.
She also encourages students to introduce themselves to guest speakers, prepare a short elevator pitch, and follow up after events. Those conversations may feel small at the time, she said, but they can lead to relationships and opportunities later.
Anderson’s own path to business law began with an interest in sports.
Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, she attended Auburn University in Alabama, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in law and justice. A lifelong athlete, Anderson became interested in the legal side of higher education while interning with Auburn’s athletic compliance department. Many of the people working there had law degrees, and she began to picture herself following a similar path.
An internship with a circuit court judge in Opelika, Alabama, gave her a closer look at civil and criminal trials and strengthened her decision to attend law school.
When it came time to choose a school, Anderson carefully considered the cost. A family friend who graduated from Widener University Delaware Law School told her about Widener, and a scholarship helped make Widener Law Commonwealth the right choice financially.
At Widener Law Commonwealth, Anderson found a path that brought her early interest in education and compliance full circle. After graduation, she plans to join a law firm that represents school districts in the Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre areas of Pennsylvania.
She expects to gain experience in school district solicitor work, along with several other practice areas, including bankruptcy, wills and estates, Social Security law, personal injury and municipal representation. Her long-term goal is to help the firm expand its higher education practice.
Anderson credits her family, Commonwealth Professor of Law and Business Advising Christian Johnson, Dean andré douglas pond cummings, and attorney Christopher Slusser ‘96 with giving her the confidence to pursue those goals. Slusser, a Widener Law Commonwealth alumnus, supervised Anderson during her summer work at the firm she will join after graduation.
“They believed in me, encouraged me, and saw potential in me,” she said. “Their guidance and mentorship built the confidence I needed to be successful.”
The Reybitz Fellowship will also give Anderson a voice in the future of the Business Advising Program. One idea she hopes to explore is a student-run business law journal, which could give students another way to strengthen their writing and dig into the areas of law that interest them.
For Anderson, finding the right career path has come from being willing to try new things, meet people and follow opportunities as they arise. As Reybitz Fellow, she hopes to help other students do the same.
