On the verge of tears, Elizabeth “Liz” Kwon L’23 studied by a headlamp for her evidence final. In the pitch black of a countywide blackout, she realized how much support she had behind her at Elon University’s Law program when she received a call from one of the Law program deans checking in on her.
Now almost two years later, Kwon has been named the new youth trustee for Elon’s Board of Trustees. Kwon found out she was nominated by a faculty member when she graduated in December 2023. She is the first alum of a graduate program to be appointed to the board and will serve a two-year term.
As the first graduate student to be elected as a youth trustee, Kwon said she hopes to bring the graduate student perspective to the table — as well as her personal experiences in the law program.
“I want to bring the trustees the affirmation of how great some of our graduate programs are and the capabilities of the students that we're bringing into the graduate programs,” Kwon said. “My peers and my colleagues just made my experience at the law school so motivating, and I want to be able to bring that perspective to the board.”
Kwon said she is most excited to see the impacts made by the Board of Trustees in her new position.
“As a recent graduate who still stays in contact with people at the law school, I can see the direct impacts that students will incur,” Kwon said. “That is one of the biggest pieces of gratification that I can get is seeing the fruits of all of our labor just right in front of us.”
A Maryland native, Kwon said she chose Elon because of Elon’s hands-on approach to learning.
“I wanted the experiential learning, I am a heavy believer that you learn by doing,” Kwon said. “I knew that I would have that chance for at least an entire semester to get my hands on a different type of law or experience that I wouldn't necessarily have at a different law school.”
While attending Elon, Kwon served as the president of the Elon Law Student Bar Association — a role she said she hopes will help her on the board.
“As the president, I worked very, very closely with our faculty and staff at the law school to learn how to maximize the student life at the law school,” Kwon said. “I'm hopeful to bring that lens to the Board of Trustees.”
Currently, Kwon works as a corporate attorney for Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions in Durham and handles their governance materials, facilities and real estate.
Kwon said she feels it is a great privilege to be on the board and share the graduate-level perspective.
“Elon has one of the most interesting legal perspective legal programs, but also just a really big footprint in North Carolina and also the Northeast region,” Kwon said. “I am very happy to have a seat at that table and discuss some of the strategic components of that.”