Layla Dixon

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Layla Dixon is preparing to become the first lawyer in her family, and she’s already helping other students find their way into the profession.

A second-year student at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Dixon leads the First Generation Legal Society and mentors a first-year student who, like her, is the first in her family to pursue a legal education. Alongside that work, she’s gaining experience in the York County district attorney’s office, where she hopes to return as a prosecutor after graduation.

For Dixon, those commitments grow out of the same desire: to help people navigate unfamiliar territory with someone in their corner.

“Support is one of the biggest things a defendant, plaintiff or victim needs when they are navigating the legal system, and I want their journey through a complicated system to be one filled with kindness, compassion and support,” she said.

Dixon was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. At Widener Law Commonwealth, the First Generation Legal Society gave her a place to share experiences with students who understood what it meant to take that next step.

Now its president for the 2026-27 academic year, she wants other students to have that same sense of belonging.

“As a member of leadership for this organization, I feel as though I can provide students with the help and support that they need to succeed in the legal field, whether it be through connections or academically,” Dixon said.

That support often takes a practical form. Through the Student Bar Association’s mentorship program, she helps her first-year mentee explore campus organizations and work through academic questions. When the student recently asked about preparing for finals, Dixon shared study tools she’d found useful, passing along advice much as her own mentor had done for her.

Her interest in law began with a high school advanced placement psychology class, where a teacher introduced her to the connections between psychology and the legal system. A college psychology professor later encouraged her to consider a legal career. By her junior year, she was working toward applying to law school.

A friend attending Widener Law Commonwealth told her about its faculty, student community and mentorship program. Dixon also saw opportunities in the school’s proximity to state government and Harrisburg-area attorneys.

Those opportunities soon became hands-on experience. After her first year, she clerked at the McShane Firm under Amanda Jones, a 2020 Widener Law Commonwealth graduate and fellow first-generation law student. Dixon reviewed discovery materials, helped prepare for trials and drafted motions for cases in south-central Pennsylvania county courts.

“Throughout the summer, and thanks to Amanda’s guidance, I was able to flourish in my role as clerk and learn so many things about the criminal justice system, particularly,” Dixon said.

This fall, she began a legal internship with the York County district attorney’s office, assisting with appellate briefs, research and trial preparation. The experience has reinforced her interest in prosecution and her enjoyment of work that demands organization, careful thinking and a fast pace.

She credits attorney John Merola, a 2024 Widener Law Commonwealth graduate, with trusting her to contribute to research, filings and trial preparation. She’s also found a role model in fellow student Michelle Ildefonso-Ruelas, who works alongside her at the office.

Both internships grew out of connections Dixon made through Widener Law Commonwealth, and both paired her with alumni mentors.

“Widener’s support of students at our law school doesn’t end when the semesters do, or even when you walk the stage at graduation,” Dixon said.

Those relationships have shown her how willing graduates are to help students build their careers.

“The alumni of our school are in just about every field you can imagine, and they want to see the students succeed in their careers and will do anything to help.”

On campus, Dixon points to her first-year legal methods professor, Randy Brandes, as another lasting source of encouragement. He helped develop the writing skills she uses in her internships and made time for conversations about her place in the profession.

“He consistently reminded me that I was not moving through law school as an impostor, but rather I was moving through law school as a student with a place at the table,” she said.

Dixon, who grew up in Yuba City, California, before moving to State College, Pennsylvania at age 11, also serves as a second-year representative for the Women’s Law Caucus and belongs to the Criminal Law Society and Law & Government Society.

As she looks toward graduation, she hopes her example will encourage other first-generation students to pursue their ambitions.

“I hope that the impact I leave after my graduation is simple: just showing other first-generation students that they can do hard things, they can achieve their dreams, and they can succeed in higher education,” she said.

Interview was conducted in Fall 2026.