Kenadie Wilde explores leadership, resilience, and creating opportunities at Baylor Law School
Kenadie Wilde explores leadership, resilience, and creating opportunities at Baylor Law School
In this episode of Counseller’s Corner, Dean Jeremy Counseller talks with 2L Kenadie Wilde, a Baylor undergrad, Baylor2Baylor scholar, and student leader, about her journey from overcoming challenges to spearheading initiatives. Kenadie shares insights on launching Baylor Law’s Real Estate & Construction Organization, leading the Women’s Legal Society, and creating meaningful connections that strengthen both the law school and the Waco community.
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TRANSCRIPT
Jeremy
Hi, I'm Jeremy Counseller, Dean of Baylor Law School. Welcome to another edition of Counseller’s Corner, and I am very pleased today to be joined by Kenadie Wilde, second year law student here at Baylor. Kenadie, how are you doing?
Kenadie
I'm good. How are you?
Jeremy
I'm doing well. So, tell us a little bit about yourself in 10 to 15 seconds, because then we'll get into the details.
Kenadie
Oh, sure, I'm a 2L at Baylor. I went to Baylor University for undergrad as well. I actually don't live in Waco right now. I commute from Belton, but I am from Magnolia. It's a small city outside of Houston. Yeah, that's pretty the, the quick rundown, I guess.
Jeremy
You and I attend the same church.
Kenadie
Yes, we do.
Jeremy
Although you are a better parishioner than I am. Just casual observation.
Kenadie
Your words, not mine.
Jeremy
You're a better parishioner than I am. And I see you at church doing, doing good service for the for the church, along with all the other things you have going on. So, I'm curious, when I look at all the things that you do, you're a good student; you're involved in all sorts of things here at the law school that are extracurricular but important; you’ve got community service. How do you balance all of that?
Kenadie
The short answer is I probably don't. But the long answer is that I try to be very intentional about making space to be a person with all of this. As you know, and I actually had a chance to chat about it a few moments ago, I had actually dropped out of law school the first time that I started, and I wasn't attempting to do any balancing, wasn't being, you know, mature about the decisions that I was making.
And after I dropped out, I made the decision to come back because I had to know that I was going to take care of myself, take care of my studies, and, and be intentional around, about keeping people around me that would help me succeed.
Jeremy
So, what techniques do you use now, the second time around, to kind of be a person? Because I think that's, that is really important to, to be a person.
Kenadie
Me and Microsoft Outlook are very close. So, I think just being more intentional about time management in general. And then also just making sure that I'm checking in with my friends and my friends… I'm very blessed to have friends that check in on me, and I, I keep them very close. But I guess just making sure that I'm just taking care of my business.
I have my checklist, my to do list on my, on my little time keeping things.
Jeremy
The, the calendar, the to-do lists are essential.
Kenadie
Yes.
Jeremy
They really are essential. And you know, lawyers live and die by their, by their calendar.
Kenadie
Yes. Yeah, I've heard that many times.
Jeremy
Yeah. I wasn't good at that in law school. I don't think I'm… I still don't think I'm good at that. The calendar and the, and the to-do list. But I know I'm far more effective when I'm really paying attention to the calendar. And also, I think keeping things contained to the time you've given them as much as possible.
It's hard. The, your way of doing this is sustainable over the course of your career. You know? And sometimes I see law students like, that's not sustainable. You can't do that for 40 years.
Kenadie
Right? Yeah. No. And that's I try to make sure that what I'm doing is sustainable. I've seen a lot of I mean, I'm on LinkedIn and I see the LinkedIn posts about, you know, Generation Z is not, you know, recognizing the hard work that goes into it. But I think that misses out on the hard work that we've been doing for so long and how we've been able to now just plug in the things that do matter to us, and that that doesn't mean not working hard.
It just means balancing. And I talked to Professor Fraley, interviewed her for Women's Legal Society, and HEAL did an interview session over the summer. And she had told me, like the work life balance doesn't exist. And I agree with her wholeheartedly. She, she was absolutely right on that. But it's learning to, still, when there is no balance, still making time to, to breathe.
Jeremy
Yeah, I think I've said this before on the podcast, but I think if I look back on my life over the last five years, there is balance. But if you pluck a particular moment out, there may not be.
Kenadie
Right. Exactly.
Jeremy
It's not always in balance. It's not always 50/50 or however it is you want to; you want to allocate it. And so, it changes. It changes day to day. Yeah. So, let's talk about some of these things that keep you busy. First of all, you mentioned that you're a Baylor undergrad and you are a recipient of the Baylor2Baylor scholarship.
So, tell me about that scholarship. It's for Baylor undergrads who want to come to Baylor Law School. So, talk about that.
Kenadie
So, it's kind of funny. I didn't want to be a lawyer growing up and actually wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon because I tore both my ACLs before I started high school. And then I took AP biology, and I realized, I don't want to do science anymore. So, I changed my path and…
Jeremy
You, like almost every other Baylor undergrad, start down that path.
Kenadie
Yeah. Yeah. And so, I went, I came to Baylor for a standard junior year of high school undergrad visit, and I met with, Professor McKenzie, who is no longer working at Baylor, but I can't remember. I believe he was a Baylor lawyer, where, if I remember correctly, he was pre-law at the time before Ben Cooper joined.
Jeremy
What was his first name?
Kenadie
Oh, I cannot remember. I will have to look that...
Jeremy
Alfred?
Kenadie
Yes.
Jeremy
He’s a Baylor lawyer.
Kenadie
Baylor lawyer. Yeah. That's a, he had met with me one on one after I did the pre-med session. And the pre-med session is very notorious for Baylor undergrads because they walk in, and they look at you and they go ‘one third of you will not be here after your freshman year’.
And I was like, okay, well, maybe I need to revisit some of my plans, but I had a one on one with Alfred McKenzie and he was, you know, looking at my grades, looking at everything that I was up to. And he was like, you should apply to Baylor, and you should apply to pre-law. And then you should apply to B2B because he's like, it looks like you've got a real shot, I think.
And I had no idea what he was talking about. But, went ahead and applied, got the offer to apply for B2B and then, you know, just one thing led to another that I, I submitted my essay, did the interview process, and, I mean, you, you come in and it's like 50 other people, and these are all extremely intelligent people in the Thunderdome.
It's the first time I met Professor Teague, that she got to speak to us about leadership, and I, and I interviewed one on one. And then as I was on my way to a basketball tournament, I was…
Jeremy
To play in it?
Kenadie
Yeah, to play in a basketball tournament my senior year. The deadline had actually passed for the, them to send out.
They were like, we’ll send out a letter by a certain time, and I didn't get the letter. So, she's kind of like, okay, whatever, I guess I didn't get it. Not a big deal. Just onto the next one. And then I'm on my way out to my basketball tournament, and my mom is running down the driveway with a letter in her hand from Baylor Launch.
She's like, you have to open it before you leave. We were on our way to Dallas, and I opened it, and…
Jeremy
You better hope it's a happy letter when you're about to play in a basketball game.
Kenadie
Well, and that was, it was a small envelope, which was so funny because, I mean, when you're applying to, you know, universities, if it's a small envelope, that's a rejection. And so, I was like, okay, mom, you're making me open this, and I'm about to sit in a car for four hours to go to Dallas. But it was a checklist of, here's all the things you need to accept before we give you this scholarship.
And so, I was lucky to receive it. Blessed to receive it. And then just kept the path and ended up on my way here after undergrad.
Jeremy
What, what difference does a scholarship like that make in the life of a law student?
Kenadie
Everything. Absolutely everything. Especially because at the time it was not full tuition. I was thinking, I think it was like a third of tuition at the time. Which was still, I mean, miraculous, world changing because they give you not just for law school, they also give you for undergrad, but for undergrad, it's a portion of your semester, I think it was $10,000 a semester.
And it was a portion of each quarter. And then I met with Ben Cooper, and I was like, hey. So, I heard that the upcoming B2B students get full tuition. What's, what's the deal with that? Just curious. And he was like, oh, you get that too. And I was like, what? What do you what do you mean?
That, you're joking? But he, yeah. He's like, yeah, that applies to you. I'll send you an email if you want it in writing, but yeah, but you actually get full tuition and that was a game changer. I love Baylor, of course. I've been here for seven, eight years now. I love being in Waco and the opportunity to be here and be able to save a ton of money while I do it and get one of the best practical, you know, application, based degrees that you can get out of a JD is just, you know, it's hard to put a price on it, but my bank account is able to put a price on it. And I'm really grateful for that.
Jeremy
You're not from Waco, but you say you really like Waco. What do you like about Waco?
Kenadie
I like the community. I do think, I mean, the Baylor bubble is definitely real, but I think most of the people who work here at Baylor are very, very active in the community and getting out into what the Waco locals have to offer, the restaurants that are around and just the general community I, I really appreciate. The town that I'm from is probably a little bit smaller than Waco, but it felt bigger because I was 40 miles from Houston and as you know, 40 miles from Houston, you're still in Houston.
Jeremy
You're still in Houston.
Kenadie
You’re still in Houston. So, Magnolia felt bigger. But coming to Waco had the very same feel that Magnolia did, where everybody pretty much knows everybody. You run into somebody everywhere you go. And there's just a.
Jeremy
Lot you to dress up to go to the grocery store unless you're comfortable being seen in your pajamas.
Kenadie
Exactly. So. And that's how it is at Magnolia. You run into somebody no matter what. And there have been days where I have been bumming it in the new HEB we got two years ago. And I'm like, of course, I ran into three people I went to high school with over the course of 20 minutes. But I do love it about, about Waco, that it's the same way.
Jeremy
Yeah. You mentioned very briefly earlier your involvement in some student organizations, but you hold leadership roles in some of them. Before we get into the details of those organizations, why was it important to you to be involved in those? Is that more about being a regular person or what was the, what was the motivation to get involved?
Kenadie
It was both wanting to be a regular person, but also professional advancement. I've learned from my current experiences that it's just, just as much about what you know as it is who you know. And I'm very blessed to be in a situation where I'm connected with a lot of attorneys. And if I can do something to help Baylor students have a more organic way to make those connections, I find that to be really important because I think OCIs are great and I think firm connections is great, but I think a lot of students, myself included, thrive off of just conversational approaches with employers and with professionals that we are interested in engaging with.
And so particularly with Baylor Law Real Estate and Construction Organization, which we just started back in the fall, I find it to be the best when students just get a chance to chit chat and it's not a designated, do you have 20 minutes to sit in a room and pitch everything that they need to know about you so that you can get a job?
It's just let's talk about what you do for fun. Let's talk about who you are. And so that, the professional aspect is really important, but it is also just having an opportunity to talk with people without feeling like you’re being cold called about your knowledge about what you're interested in doing, and the type of practice that you want to do.
Jeremy
I think a couple of observations based on what you've said, I mean, right now, the student organizations at Baylor Law School seem to be more alive and vibrant and energetic than I can ever remember them being. And then secondly, there does seem, to your point, more opportunities to connect with employers in a non-interview setting.
Kenadie
Right.
Jeremy
Which I think is, is great, which going forward in your career, that's really a lot of how you find the next job is people you know, you know, otherwise and not just through an interview with someone you just met.
Kenadie
Right.
Jeremy
So, you mentioned this, but I want you to talk more about it. The Baylor Law School Real Estate and Construction Law Organization, you were part of the founding of that organization, is my understanding.
Kenadie
Yes.
Jeremy
Talk about why you wanted to do that and what the organization does.
Kenadie
Yeah. So, it was, it was twofold. There were a couple of students last year that were really interested in starting real estate and construction group. And I had just gotten a message, I think on GroupMe that they were like, hey, we're thinking about starting a construction group. Is anybody interested? And I piped up. And then this past summer, I interned at Adams and Reese where I worked under, actually, Baylor lawyer David Toney, who I found his picture on the practice court wall, and I sent it to his son yesterday. But we're.
Jeremy
We’re all up there somewhere.
Kenadie
No, I haven't looked for you yet, but I'm sure many people have found it. But I worked under him, and he works in construction litigation, and it was always something I was interested in. But working under him, I realized that there were so many different aspects to that particular style of litigation that I had never thought of.
And also, to be frank, job stability. We're always building things. Things are always falling apart, and people are always getting hurt while we're there trying to build things. So that style of litigation is something I've always been interested in, and getting a chance to work in it made me realize, no, I really, I really want to get involved.
And so, I reached back out to those guys, and I was like, hey, I heard about this construction group. Is there any movement on that? Is there anything I can do to help? And most of them had started practice court and so they were like, well, honestly, it's kind of stalled. But if you want, we'll send you everything we have, and you can keep it going.
So, I'm really grateful to them for giving me that chance. And so along with a bunch of other students, we were able to get things up and off the ground. So, we've included real estate in that as well, because we find that both of those fields are relatively interlocked in some ways. But in others they're different.
And finding a way to get those groups together, I think, would be really beneficial.
Jeremy
Did the student organizations… You mentioned earlier the importance of your friends and kind of reaching out. Obviously, of friends outside of law school, but did the student organizations provide you a way to kind of find your people within the law school? Is that something that it's done for you?
Kenadie
Absolutely. And I spoke with Women's Legal Society as well. Kat McCurdy and Kim Chappell, they're two of my very best friends now, working together really closely with them. It's definitely given me friendships that I didn't anticipate having. But I consider to be lifelong friendships going forward.
Jeremy
So, you're the co-president is my understanding of the Women's Legal Society?
Kenadie
Yes, I am.
Jeremy
Talk about the work that that organization does.
Kenadie
We do a number of different things. Our big event that we do every year is Off the Record where we bring a bunch of, women, Baylor law alumni, and they come back and talk a little bit about their unique experiences, kind of in a similar way to this podcast of, what, what it is that they did when they were in law school, what brought them to where they are now, and just sharing a little bit of their wisdom with us about how they ended up where they're at.
And it's been great. Every year, Professor Fraley and Professor Teague do a fantastic job of helping us get those connections. And we hang out in the library and have a really nice dinner and do some networking. But we also have quarterly social events where we all just get together usually. I think we went to Slow Rise back in the fall and just have a chance to have a little community and, and just like, like we've talked about before, just be people.
Jeremy
The, if you look back, at most any law school class, in any law school 40 years ago and look at the percentage of women in the class, it's very, very few, very, very small. Today, most people in law school are women.
Kenadie
Yes.
Jeremy
And so, the future of the legal profession is very much majority female. It looks like that's what we're trending towards.
And so, I think, doing those kinds of events and learning from the people who, they did not... I mean, Professor Fraley and Professor Teague did not go through their careers where it was kind of half and half in the profession. And I think just incredibly valuable that that's being passed on. And that's a, that's a great that Off the Record event is a great event.
I'm familiar with it. Okay. We have come to the Lightning Round. What's the last book you read for fun?
Kenadie
Probably Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Jeremy
You read Nietzsche for fun.
Kenadie
I do. I was a philosophy major in college.
Jeremy
Okay, good. Good on you. Following up on that, Nietzsche quote or Nietzsche reference, does pineapple belong on pizza?
Kenadie
Yes, it does.
Jeremy
And that's incorrect. What, what what's your favorite song?
Kenadie
Oh, man, I'm about to out myself a little bit. Probably (Sic) by Slipknot, if I had to guess.
Jeremy
Favorite movie as a kid?
Kenadie
Hoodwinked.
Jeremy
Best way to eat a potato?
Kenadie
Mashed.
Jeremy
Favorite fast-food restaurant?
Kenadie
Raising Cane’s.
Jeremy
Is a hotdog a sandwich?
Kenadie
Oh, yes, I would, I would say so.
Jeremy
If you could be an Olympic athlete, what sport would you choose to compete?
Kenadie
Probably basketball.
Jeremy
Okay, I understand you may have a question or two for me.
Kenadie
Yes, I do, I do have two. One's a little sillier than the other. Have you always been a pop star fan or does that come from being a father?
Jeremy
What does that mean? Pop-star fan?
Kenadie
Well, you did introduce in your Dean's Devotional last year that you were in some of the top…
Jeremy
Yes.
Kenadie
fraction of a percentage of Olivia Rodrigo listeners.
Jeremy
I know, I know, there were only, I can't remember what it was. I think there were only 75,000 people on the planet who had listened to, what's? Now I'm forgetting the song because I, I…
Kenadie
Driver's license?
Jeremy
No, no.
Kenadie
You know her better than me.
Jeremy
And that, it's probably her most famous song. Golly. It's, It's the one where she…
Kenadie
Good for you?
Jeremy
She hates him, but she loves him. She wants to kiss him with an uppercut. All this stuff. Okay. Anyway, that song, which I'll think about as soon as we're off the podcast.
Kenadie
Of course.
Jeremy
Yeah, like 60,000 people on the planet had listened to that song more than me. Only 60,000.
Kenadie
Yeah.
Jeremy
I, that was my Spotify, like Christmas list. This is what you listened to most last year. So, I say I am not a big pop music fan.
Kenadie
Yeah.
Jeremy
But when you look at what I actually listen to, it's like Taylor Swift and it's Olivia Rodrigo. And I think this is because my daughters, I have two daughters. They make me playlists.
Kenadie
Oh, okay.
Jeremy
And so, I have probably half a dozen playlists from them.
Jeremy
And I will ask them, I say, hey, what are the kids listening to? Make me a playlist of what y’all listen to.
Kenadie
Sure. Sure.
Jeremy
And, and they're good. Like, they're catchy, you know, and I'll, I'll listen. Because I drive around a lot. I have to travel a lot, and I'll listen to the playlist in the car. And, you know, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo rise to the top all the time.
Kenadie
They're doing it.
Jeremy
They're doing it.
Kenadie
Okay. And then the more…
Jeremy
Which, by the way, Taylor Swift's recent album is growing on me.
Kenadie
It is?
Jeremy
Yeah, it's growing on me. I wasn't initially blown away, but it's growing on me more.
Kenadie
I know I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one.
Jeremy
So, I'm, I'm liking it more and more.
Kenadie
Okay. And then the more serious one, when you applied for the Dean position, was it spontaneous or was it something that you had always envisioned as a goal? And what motivated that choice?
Jeremy
Well, I remember, when I was like 16 years old, I was walking past a Baskin-Robbins and I just went in there and handed them, filled out an application. It wasn't that spontaneous. I mean,
Kenadie
Sure.
Jeremy
You have to. You have.
Kenadie
To mull it over.
Jeremy
To mull it for sure. You know, it wasn't a career goal. I, when the opening became available, I thought a lot about it because I was very happy doing what I was doing. But decided to apply for the job because I thought, well, maybe I can be the steward, a decent steward of this place for some period of time, however long, long that is.
And I thought, I do love this place. I and that's got to be an important attribute.
Kenadie
Right.
Jeremy
And the other thing, my predecessor, Brad Toben, did a lot of great things. And one of the things I always most appreciated was this was always a really good place to work, you know, it was just a great place to work.
And I wanted to make sure it was continued to be a great place to work for the people who are Baylor Law School. And I wanted to make sure, above all else, that we kept our focus on preparing students for the practice of law. Right? There's lots of other things we do as a law school, but none of them would make up for not doing everything we could to prepare our students for the legal profession.
And so, I wanted to make sure that those things continued to be true.
Kenadie
Right. Yeah, yeah. You've always been a appreciated part of this school. And so, it was as a person who was lucky to take you before and after you became Dean. It was, it was, really it was heartwarming to see. So, we're glad to have you.
Jeremy
Oh Kenadie, you're so kind. You're so kind. And I've really enjoyed talking with you. We've, we've gone too long, so they're probably going to edit this down, but I hope they, I hope they don't edit down, the part where I tell you we're really proud of you. You're going to do great. Great. Yeah.
Kenadie
That means a lot.
Jeremy
Yeah.
Kenadie
Thank you.
