Thinking about joining a law fraternity?

NSU has 11 academic fraternities and sororities, but PAD is the way to go if you are a law student.

Phi Alpha Delta law fraternity is one of NSU’s biggest academic frats. It is a relatively new organization to campus, seeing that they have only been active for four years. However, it has been around as a national organization since 1902.

Their core values include teaching students to better understand the nature of law and striving to be the premier legal professional organization with a diverse membership that cultivates leaders and serves as a voice for the role of legal professionalism in our society.

It is open to all undergraduate students, but it is more focused on students who want to further their law education.

“While PAD is open to anyone, all of our events are pretty much geared towards anyone that is pre-law, such as political science, criminal justice and paralegal studies,” said Evi Alijag, PAD’s senior vice president. “As long as you’re kind of aiming for law school or a career in the legal field. Anyone can join. They’re more than welcome to and we will accept you with open arms.”

PAD members tabling in the UC during Shark Tank Tuesday on Sept. 8. Photo by Francesca Abarca.

The recruitment process is a bit different than that of a regular sorority or fraternity, as recruits do not have to send in bids or attend rush events. This process lasts two weeks and starts in late September, running to early October.

The recruitment events, such as information sessions, are designed so that potential members can gain a better understanding of what PAD is. Getting to know existing members is an opportunity for students to see if committing to PAD is something they want to do.

Once they begin the recruitment process, it is required that they attend a certain number of events. Then, they must fill out an application, which the E-board reviews in order to determine if the applicant is a right fit for the fraternity.

The initiation ceremony takes place in November. That is when new recruits get their certificates and become official PAD members.

Vicki Toscano, the faculty and pre-law adviser, said she has plans to build a new Canvas page. “I’m working on building an all-encompassing Canvas page called Journey to Law School in which all the students in PAD have access to potential internships, applying to law school, and all the information law students would need to know,” she said.

PAD also hopes to reach out to big companies like Khan Academy and Kaplan to allow their members access to their educational materials. These companies help with anything from prepping for the LSAT to applying to law school.

PAD has many opportunities for their members to meet people with similar interests, especially in the law field.

For more information, contact Dr. Toscano at vtoscano@ nova.edu.