Melding the Personal and the Professional: Madison Odallo ’27 Builds a Career in Law
Sometimes it only takes one undergrad class to get the clarity to find the path. For Madison Odallo, the class was “Women and the Law.”
And the path was William & Mary law School.
“I started to have an interest in law in high school, because like many others I knew I wanted to help people,” Odallo says. “However, the thought of going to law school and investing in a future legal career started to scare me and I abandoned the idea.”
It wasn’t until she was a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) that Odallo took the “Women and the Law” class. There she learned about intersectionality, the study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination. 
Odallo was fascinated that an entire theory explained so much that she had experienced as a Black woman, and it was the first time she could picture herself in a career.
“I realized that I could use my life experiences and the experiences of the women I have grown up around in my career,” Odallo says. “Before this, I thought I would have to separate the personal and the professional, especially in a field such as law.
“This class showed me that there was a place for me in the legal profession where I could advocate for issues that are personal to me and so many others.”
Odallo grew up about 25 minutes from William & Mary in Hampton, Virginia. At VCU, she received her B.A. in Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies while being involved in a first-generation student organization and serving as a teaching assistant for a course designed for first-generation political science students. She also became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Incorporated.
Odall graduated in December 2023 and worked in the Virginia General Assembly doing Senate Committee operations before joining William & Mary Law School in August. She chose William & Mary because of its commitment to diversity and inclusion, emphasis on creating Citizen Lawyers, and facilitating conversations where different opinions are respected.
“Before I even finalized my choice, William & Mary made me feel like this was where I belonged,” Odallo says. “When I visited campus, my nerves started to settle as I could see how William & Mary make sure that students feel supported by professors, administration, and each other.”
Having settled in and completed her first semester, Odallo hopes to build on her passion for civil and human rights, but she is open to exploring other pathways.
“I think this past semester has shown the wide range of career options for lawyers,” Odallo says. “Over the next two and half years I would like to take advantage of the opportunity to explore these different options to find what I would like to pursue immediately after graduation.”
Knowing that William & Mary Law strives for a diversity of perspectives and that Black women attorneys represent only about two percent of the profession, Odallo is excited that the Law School has given her an opportunity to add to their ranks.
“That two percent number is one of my biggest motivations to keep going,” she says. “I think this is a unique perspective as it can be difficult to imagine yourself in a career where you do not feel represented.”
Odallo admits that entering law school as a first-generation student limited her view of what was to come, but she knows that her perspectives will make her opinions unique. “Being first-gen also makes me open-minded when hearing the perspective of others,” she adds.
Odallo is currently involved with the Black Law Students Association and is an assistant chair on the Honor Council. In the future, she hopes to join a journal and participate in a clinic. When not on campus, she considers herself more of a homebody who enjoys her Kindle and watching movies and reality television. She also enjoys spending time with her friends and family, and recently started making her own jewelry.
As she starts her second semester and her 2L year in the fall, she most looks forward to being more confident in her ability to take classes, handle the workload and keep up with all the reading.
“Now that we are done with the first semester, I have more confidence, and I know that even though law school is challenging, I can handle it,” Odallo says. “In the 2L year, I am looking forward to being able to have more freedom in choosing my classes and taking courses where I am more interested in the subject matter.”