Lauralei Singsank '24
Hey Lauralei, thanks for taking the time to talk to us! I wanted to interview you for this Hot Bench because you recently became Virginia Law’s first Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”).
Where are you from, and where did you go to undergrad?
I grew up on Maui, Hawaii, and studied music and political science at the University of Oregon. I worked in Portland for a year before moving to Charlottesville.
I went to college in Hawaii, but what was it like growing up in Hawaii?
It was great, and my upbringing is part of why I ran for VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Hawaii is the most diverse state in the country, and moving to Eugene, Oregon gave me more appreciation for Hawaii’s diversity. My background has influenced my perspective on what’s important in building a diverse student body or workplace.
Tell me more about Hawaii’s diversity.
There’s a certain comfort being in a place where basically everyone comes from different cultures or has different family dynamics. The comfort of knowing that you have an incredibly diverse group of people allows everyone to get to know others and their cultures better. There are so many ways to interface with the world. If you’re in an environment where (a) diversity isn’t a focus or (b) there’s a power dynamic that discourages people from talking about diversity, then it prevents everyone from growing and learning from everyone else’s past, culture, or family history. Ignoring diversity keeps us siloed away in whatever mentality we grew up in. It gets harder to break out of it the older you get. So, growing up around people who were nothing like myself was so beneficial.
We’ve both lived in Hawaii, and every day you can hear as many as ten languages and interact with people from dozens of cultures. How do you promote diversity at a place like Virginia Law that is less linguistically and racially diverse?
One challenge with how we talk about diversity is that it often gets boiled down to racial diversity only. Racial diversity is crucial, and we should foster that by facilitating more events like cultural celebrations. However, more needs to be done for the students that are already here. We should look at other forms of diversity within the law school, such as economic diversity. Like many others, I’m a first-generation law student.
If you don’t come from money, you can feel out of place here pretty quickly. This is the first time I have been exposed to so many people whose families are all doctors, lawyers, etc. One thing that doesn’t get as much attention as it should is the prohibitive cost of popular events such as Foxfield and Barrister’s. A great way to start creating a support system for all students would be to bridge these economic barriers more efficiently. Basically, our diversity efforts should account for who our student body actually is and amplify all kinds of diverse voices.
In my research, I couldn’t find any other law schools with student Vice Presidents of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. What does it mean to you to be the first VP of DEI at UVA Law (and possibly the first one at a T14 law school)?
It says something about the student body and administration here to institutionalize a position that helps diverse student voices be heard. I would love to see this position become permanent, because longevity is so important. Reliance on one person is dangerous for any organization, because if they leave, then you have to start over from the ground up. So, I’d like to create institutional knowledge and streamline communications between diverse student voices and the administration.
I’ll be working with Dean Jefferson, UVA Law’s chief diversity officer. I’m excited to see what vision he has for the school, since his position will last beyond my time at UVA. I hope to bring together affinity groups to determine what can be done for the next decade, not just the next year.
I also looked for student VPs of DEI at other law schools, and I was shocked that I couldn’t find anything. I’m hoping that we can spearhead some efforts that spread to other schools.
What brought you to law school? Do you plan to practice in Hawaii?
I always knew that I wanted to go to law school. Both of my parents are public servants. My mom was a police officer, and my dad was a social worker.
I’d love to end up back in Hawaii, ideally in the government. I plan to get whatever experience I can on the Mainland before returning to Hawaii. Partially, I want to do my best to prevent Hawaii’s “brain drain” [the phenomenon of young, educated people leaving Hawaii because of its limited economic opportunities], especially on Maui. There are so few Maui-Native attorneys on Maui, and having that kind of local representation in your community is important.
What’s a piece of advice that you would tell your past self before law school?
Keep an open mind, but be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. We’ve been told our whole lives to keep as many career options open as possible, but there are diminishing returns to keeping doors open. The further I have gotten into law school, the more I have realized that generalizing too much can cause you to lose track of what you’re passionate about. It’s good to get comfortable shutting doors to focus on the ones you care about.
Lightning round questions!
Favorite place in Charlottesville?
Riverside Lunch. It has the best fried pickles and $3.50 cheeseburgers you’ll ever have in your life.
Anti-stress hobby?
Pickleball. I play an inordinately large amount of pickleball. I play every Sunday morning. Charlottesville is actually home to the 16th best women’s player in the world, so there’s a solid scene here.
A place you want to visit?
Japan. I visited in middle school, and I would love to go back. My family’s from the Fukushima area, and they had a farm that was destroyed during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown. It would be interesting to see how the region is now.
What’s a movie that left an impression on you?
One scene from The Devil Wears Prada left an impression. Andy (Anne Hathaway) decides to work in fashion out of desperation for a job, and Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) gives this monologue about how the fashion industry will “get you” even if you think you’re better than it. Miranda says that every item of clothing was at some point influenced by fashion industry experts. Just because you’re not conscious of the effect they had on your life doesn’t mean that it’s not happening. Basically, pretending that it’s cool to be ignorant about fashion benefits nobody and only shows your ignorance to these cultural influences. I feel relatively uneducated about fashion, but it made me think more about why I buy the clothes I do.
Least favorite sound?
The squeaking that comes from wet boots walking on a tile floor.
Here’s a hypothetical: Let’s suppose that you woke up tomorrow on an island with the Virginia Law student body, and everyone else in the world mysteriously disappeared. What role do you think you would play in rebuilding society?
If it’s a tropical island, I would be so good at growing agriculture. I grew up on a flower farm, my dad grew up on a corn farm in Minnesota, and my grandpa is an expert gardener. At the very least, having more flowers would make our island society more beautiful.
I could also be a solid lumberjack. Over quarantine, I learned about Hawaiian kiawe wood, which is valuable because it’s dense and burns for a long time. I chopped down trees, split the wood, and sold it.
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Interviewed by Jackson Makanikeoe Grubbe '23
lks3ea@virginia.edu