Law Student and Activist Katie Grossbard
Katie Grossbard is a law student, creator and activist, with a large influence and following on social media. “I definitely feel pressure – not to post certain content, but to get it right. With the news cycle moving so quickly and information coming from lots of different sources there is a conflict between getting information out and making sure it’s all verified. I love hearing from people who say they value what I’m sharing because that’s truly why I do it.” Katie wants everyone to feel informed because she believes that when you are informed, you are empowered. Everything comes beak to education for her. “Knowledge is power. And sharing this information via social media is a new version of journalism.”
Katie also worked in social media for years both in the fashion and lifestyle brand space prior to going to law school, so she knows the system and how awful it can make people feel personally. “I try very hard to not equate the platform with self-worth. I have value outside of how many likes or views or followers I have. I try to see it as a tool that that is part of something larger rather than the entirety of what I aim to do.”
Katie has one year left in law school, before this, she worked in the fashion industry in New York City and she truly thought that was the world she wanted to be in. “It’s incredible how much has changed in the past four years. After the 2016 election I just had to do something else. I wasn’t personally fulfilled in the fashion space and was found myself studying for the LSAT without really even planning on becoming a lawyer. I crave education and information. I never thought I’d go back to school, but I followed my instincts and they led me to law school.”
It’s hard for Katie to give general advice for law school because people go for such different reasons, but she would say, “try not to let others convince you that anything you are doing in the “wrong” way of doing it”. “There’s a lot of pressure and competition in law school, but there are also thousands of paths to take. A law school degree can be a foundation for so many different career paths, so people’s advice is usually more reflective of their values and goals than of the person they are advising (hope that makes sense!).”
“Activism found me honestly. I love that saying about not wanting to be the smartest person in the room – I kept just basically inviting myself into rooms that were filled with brilliant people working to benefit worthy causes. I am so lucky to have so many incredible people in my life who are so passionate about so many things.” When she started to hear about different causes and areas that she could support, she says she couldn’t say no.
Being in those rooms and making sure the right people are a part of the conversation is critical, Katie says. “Inviting people in and educating as many people as we can about how much can change when people step up empowers so many people to get involved.
For example, when I go on humanitarian trips with This is About Humanity – which focuses on the crisis at the Mexico-USA border and family separation – our group gets to connect firsthand to a cause that otherwise we would just see in the news. Making things personal for people is extremely important as they more you know and the more you feel, the more likely you are to act.”
In the past year, she has become more focused on causes and news because she realized the value of sharing that kind of information. “People were craving it, especially with the pandemic. So, I started covering things that I thought were important to know: covid information, voting information, humanitarian resources, etc. I’m so glad it was well received. The reaction inspires me and motivates me to continue because I truly want people to have the necessary information to make educated decisions. My happiest day is if someone takes what I share, learns a new fact and shares that with their own community. These issues aren’t going to solved overnight so we all have to be in this fight for the long haul – the fight for facts, for science, for education.”
In five years, Katie says she hopes to have figured out a way to bridge all of the worlds she is passionate about in some semblance of a career. “For all I know, what I’ll be doing in five years doesn’t even exist right now. I just hope that I fill fulfilled and excited to wake up every day and continue to share information with people. I hope that as a society we will have made serious progress and that we are continuing to focus on what’s important. (We will also be hopefully in the second term of a Democratic president in five years…)”