“I could not be happier with the decision I made three years ago to attend this university. I have made invaluable connections with peers and faculty at FSU's campus.”
Fast Facts
- Favorite Class: IDH 3109 Sustainability in Public Discourse: Rhetoric & Environmentalism
- Activist: Hopes to become an environmental lawyer
- Four Favorite Films: Princess Mononoke, Frances Ha, Children of Men and Paris is Burning
- Loves Poetry: Favorite poets are Sharon Olds and Audre Lorde
- Favorite Building: Dodd Hall
Madelyn Luther is a dedicated pre-law student who is committed to finding the overlap between her passions for writing, climate justice and law.
Luther is the president and editor-in-chief of the Undergraduate Law Review at Florida State University, which gives students the chance to define their legal research by publishing articles in a digital journal. She played a part in renewing the status of the Review as a Registered Student Organization in 2020.
She is also working on an undergraduate thesis project for the Honors in the Major program, in which she considers climate justice through an interdisciplinary lens.
What drew you to attend Florida State University?
I attended Florida State University because I wanted to pursue law school, and I was excited at the legal, political and civic engagement opportunities in the state capital. I participated in the Girls State program in high school at FSU, and I was captivated by the campus.
The most important factor in my decision to attend FSU was the university’s world-class programs in the humanities and social sciences. I wanted to study English, and I was passionate about writing, research and rhetoric. I could not be happier with the decision I made three years ago to attend this university. I have made invaluable connections with peers and faculty at FSU’s campus.
How have your academic experiences allowed you to explore interdisciplinary studies?
My Honors in the Major undergraduate thesis project under the guidance of Tarez Graban, an associate professor of English, honors teaching scholar and director of the Rhetoric and Composition Program in the Department of English, has allowed me to explore climate discourse from an interdisciplinary lens. I am passionate that climate change must be tackled using climate science in collaboration with climate justice, spatial justice and sustainable policymaking. My thesis allows me to consider climate justice issues from a rhetorical, ethical and decolonial lens. I have engaged with qualitative discourse analysis through my thesis project, and I will present my project at the President’s Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence.
How have you served your community through your work?
I am the president and editor-in-chief of the Undergraduate Law Review, which I joined in the fall of my freshman year. I started as a writer and editor, and I worked my way through higher-ranking leadership positions like secretary, vice president and executive editor. I have played a key role in the organization’s growth by marketing it across campus and innovating ways to expand our reach. The Review helped me to develop my writing, editing and legal research skills and exposed me to the Bluebook legal citation style. I have made lifelong professional connections and friends through the organization, and I look forward to its continued growth during my last semester at FSU.
Where have you seen your impact on the community?
As a member of the executive board at the Undergraduate Law Review, I have furthered the organization’s mission of bringing like-minded students across FSU’s campus together to engage in legal discourse. The Review prioritizes peer education and support rather than prestige alone, values that I champion as president and editor-in-chief. My leadership played a significant role in expanding its reach across campus, which has allowed many of my peers to engage in legal research at the undergraduate level. When I joined the organization, it had lost its Registered Student Organization status, it did not have much of a following on social media, and it did not have a website or any way that students could learn more about what it was and how to join. I spearheaded marketing initiatives that grew the Review’s following on social media, re-registered it as an RSO and promoted applications to FSU students through tabling events.