Community - Student - Ashton Yeh Profile
As president of the Student Bar Association, Ashton Yeh serves as a liaison between students and administration and plans events for the law school community.
Student Profile Ashton Yeh
Meet the president
3L Ashton Yeh leads the Student Bar Association
When Loyola University Chicago School of Law student Ashton (Ash) Yeh started volunteering with crisis hotlines and law clinics during undergrad, the work felt like a way to connect with their community. Places like the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and the Domestic Abuse Self-Help Center let Yeh witness firsthand how legal aid can uplift the people who need it most. While volunteering with the San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys’ offices, they even witnessed a trial in its entirety and sat in on various court hearings. In fact, these experiences clicked with Yeh so much that they began to consider enrolling in law school.
“When I saw Loyola’s values—service and justice—it resonated with me,” Yeh says. “It prompted me to ask: How can I, and the law, best serve people?”
Yeh, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, jumped into studying the kind of law they had already been involved with: public interest. Throughout law school, they also have been exploring intellectual property law and its intersection with pro bono work.
During their 1L year, Yeh joined Loyola’s Student Bar Association (SBA), a student organization that serves as a liaison between students and administration and plans events for the law school community. Now, in their 3L year, Yeh serves as SBA president. Here, they discuss new responsibilities, this year’s exciting programming, and what makes SBA so important.
What is the role of SBA at Loyola?
I believe that our role, first and foremost, is to be an advocate for students. The executive board was elected by our peers, who placed their trust and faith in us as representatives of the school. My role [as president] is to represent SBA at law school administration meetings and oversee all the events that our executive board is implementing during the school year.
We have the unique opportunity to highlight any concerns or issues of the student body that the administration might not be aware of and implement initiatives to improve our student life. Some of our successes include working with the administration to offer a summer U-Pass for students enrolled in summer classes. We’ve implemented more mental health and wellness initiatives, including Wellness Week and Coffee at the Law Library before finals. Last year, SBA also formed the first budget committee to allocate student development funds fairly and transparently. Additionally, we host dean’s roundtables to foster discussion and collaboration with our faculty and staff. This year, we worked with the Student Services team to revamp our student lounge to provide a more comfortable and relaxing space for students. We have fun as well! We host schoolwide events like the Barrister’s Ball that bring our community together.
“When I saw Loyola’s values—service and justice—it resonated with me. It prompted me to ask: How can I, and the law, best serve people?”
What programming are you excited about this year?
This year we’re implementing something new called Dress for Success. It’s something our team put together with other students from the law school: a professional clothing drive for students who need clothing for interviews, courtroom appearances, networking events, and more.
We’re also celebrating Wellness Wednesdays. Every second and fourth Wednesday, we hope to bring forth wellness and well-being programming. Sometimes that’s not emphasized enough, especially in law school. It’s to remind students that self-care is important, and it doesn’t just happen during finals. Self-care has to happen throughout law school.
Additionally, we're planning joint events with other law schools in the Chicago community to bridge our student experiences and create a more connected, collaborative network.
How has your involvement evolved since your first year at Loyola?
One of the reasons I came to Loyola is because of the community. Since coming here, something so beautiful about this school is that I see this cycle of receiving and giving every year. As a 1L, we receive so many words of wisdom and resources from our 2Ls and 3Ls. And now, as a 3L, it’s my turn to do the same. I couldn’t have picked a better school, and I certainly couldn't have done this without the support of Loyola faculty, staff, alumni, students, and our previous SBA executive boards. –Megan Kirby (August 2024)
When Loyola University Chicago School of Law student Ashton (Ash) Yeh started volunteering with crisis hotlines and law clinics during undergrad, the work felt like a way to connect with their community. Places like the Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and the Domestic Abuse Self-Help Center let Yeh witness firsthand how legal aid can uplift the people who need it most. While volunteering with the San Francisco and Los Angeles district attorneys’ offices, they even witnessed a trial in its entirety and sat in on various court hearings. In fact, these experiences clicked with Yeh so much that they began to consider enrolling in law school.
“When I saw Loyola’s values—service and justice—it resonated with me,” Yeh says. “It prompted me to ask: How can I, and the law, best serve people?”
Yeh, who grew up in Dallas, Texas, jumped into studying the kind of law they had already been involved with: public interest. Throughout law school, they also have been exploring intellectual property law and its intersection with pro bono work.
During their 1L year, Yeh joined Loyola’s Student Bar Association (SBA), a student organization that serves as a liaison between students and administration and plans events for the law school community. Now, in their 3L year, Yeh serves as SBA president. Here, they discuss new responsibilities, this year’s exciting programming, and what makes SBA so important.
What is the role of SBA at Loyola?
I believe that our role, first and foremost, is to be an advocate for students. The executive board was elected by our peers, who placed their trust and faith in us as representatives of the school. My role [as president] is to represent SBA at law school administration meetings and oversee all the events that our executive board is implementing during the school year.
We have the unique opportunity to highlight any concerns or issues of the student body that the administration might not be aware of and implement initiatives to improve our student life. Some of our successes include working with the administration to offer a summer U-Pass for students enrolled in summer classes. We’ve implemented more mental health and wellness initiatives, including Wellness Week and Coffee at the Law Library before finals. Last year, SBA also formed the first budget committee to allocate student development funds fairly and transparently. Additionally, we host dean’s roundtables to foster discussion and collaboration with our faculty and staff. This year, we worked with the Student Services team to revamp our student lounge to provide a more comfortable and relaxing space for students. We have fun as well! We host schoolwide events like the Barrister’s Ball that bring our community together.
What programming are you excited about this year?
This year we’re implementing something new called Dress for Success. It’s something our team put together with other students from the law school: a professional clothing drive for students who need clothing for interviews, courtroom appearances, networking events, and more.
We’re also celebrating Wellness Wednesdays. Every second and fourth Wednesday, we hope to bring forth wellness and well-being programming. Sometimes that’s not emphasized enough, especially in law school. It’s to remind students that self-care is important, and it doesn’t just happen during finals. Self-care has to happen throughout law school.
Additionally, we're planning joint events with other law schools in the Chicago community to bridge our student experiences and create a more connected, collaborative network.
How has your involvement evolved since your first year at Loyola?
One of the reasons I came to Loyola is because of the community. Since coming here, something so beautiful about this school is that I see this cycle of receiving and giving every year. As a 1L, we receive so many words of wisdom and resources from our 2Ls and 3Ls. And now, as a 3L, it’s my turn to do the same. I couldn’t have picked a better school, and I certainly couldn't have done this without the support of Loyola faculty, staff, alumni, students, and our previous SBA executive boards. –Megan Kirby (August 2024)