![\"\"](\"https:\/\/clemson.world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Pam-Robinson.jpg\")
Prodding from a library\u00a0colleague led Pam DeFanti\u00a0Robinson on an adventure\u00a0that\u2019s put her at the heart of\u00a0influencing young lives \u2014 just\u00a0in a different classroom than\u00a0originally planned.\nRobinson currently serves as\u00a0the director of the University of\u00a0South Carolina School of Law\u00a0pro bono program. Before law\u00a0school, Robinson\u2019s path was\u00a0elementary education.\u00a0The Rhode Island native\u00a0came to South Carolina as\u00a0a teen during her father\u2019s\u00a0relocation with DuPont. With\u00a0no ties to Clemson, she applied\u00a0because a summer program\u00a0had piqued her interest. After\u00a0teaching in Atlanta and outside\u00a0Washington, D.C., life brought\u00a0her back to South Carolina,\u00a0where she settled in Camden as\u00a0a children\u2019s librarian.\u00a0\u201cI knew I needed to go back\u00a0and get another degree,\u201d said\u00a0Robinson.
\nA colleague challenged her to try law school. Robinson stayed around USC\u2019s law school after\u00a0graduation to assist with projects. A conversation over a cup of coffee with her dean was how the pro\u00a0bono program idea started \u2014 the first of its kind in the state and the nation. Now she\u2019s opening doors\u00a0for those who need legal aid and students who need guidance navigating careers. The program is open\u00a0to all law students who are willing to volunteer to work on everything from filing taxes to translating\u00a0documents to Spanish.
\n[pullquote]\u201c[Pro bono] doesn\u2019t mean for free. The phrase is part of a Latin phrase meaning \u2018for the public good.\u2019\u00a0Sometimes [services] are free or low cost for people who can\u2019t afford an attorney for whatever reason,\u201d[\/pullquote] she\u00a0said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in law school [students] can\u2019t practice law, or give legal advice, so we go right up to\u00a0the line of what\u2019s legal.\u201d
\nRobinson says every class is different and offers a different skill set and potential for what they can\u00a0accomplish that year, but the one-on-one experience the program offers showcases the breadth of the law\u00a0and what a potential practice can entail.
\nAnd even though her students are bigger than first-graders, she still gets tickled when her students\u00a0have \u201ceureka\u201d moments. \u201cThat\u2019s such a good feeling to say, \u2018Hang in there, you can do that,\u2019\u201d she said.
\n\u201cWe can\u2019t, as law school and law students, solve all the problems of the community, but we can be\u00a0there as part of the solution,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"