What is the G.O.L.D. Program and what are the program benefits?
Phi Alpha Delta’s Growing Our Leadership Diversity (G.O.L.D.) Program is a leadership development program with a mentoring component designed to identify law student members from diverse backgrounds willing to take on additional leadership roles in P.A.D. upon graduation from law school. During the Program, P.A.D. law student members will have the opportunity to:

1. Build upon existing skills to become better leaders;
2. Foster relationships with other P.A.D. leaders through a formal mentoring program; and
3. Benefit from a moderated leadership assessment to gain insight into personal and group management styles, identify strengths, and adapt to weaknesses.

What is the time commitment for student participants?
The programming spans from July 2024 through May 2025 and requires a commitment of about two (2) to four (4) hours per month. This includes preparing for and attending monthly programming, meeting monthly with your assigned mentor, and working on a development/service project; these items require attendance and active participation. Prior to applying, please view the Law Student Expectations, which contains information about the Program’s attendance policy, to ensure your schedule can accommodate this commitment.

What is the cost of the program?
With the support of our sponsors and the Phi Alpha Delta International Foundation, this program is free of cost to accepted students. The program covers curriculum costs as well as travel and hotel fees to attend required in-person event(s) as noted in the Law Student Expectations.

When does the program begin?
The 2024-2025 cycle will launch in July 2024.

What are the eligibility requirements?
Applicants must (1) be P.A.D. law student members in good standing, (2) be currently enrolled in law school, and (3) not be scheduled to graduate prior to May 2025.

For the 2024-2025 academic year, this program will serve law student members only. The 2024-2025 law student class will be limited to no more than twelve (12) students.

The application period for the 2024-2025 law cycle is now closed.

What is included in the curriculum of the program?
From July 2024-May 2025, participants will attend virtual and in-person leadership programming events and meet with their mentor regularly.

The program includes a leadership assessment profile for each participant, presentations by featured speakers focused on P.A.D.’s core values, and the opportunity to build a development/service project with other participants.

Additionally, participants will be able to attend in-person and virtual events throughout the program. More information, including a complete schedule of events, will be provided to those students accepted into the program before it begins. Since service is one of the Fraternity's core values, students will be split into teams to create a service/development project, which will be a critical component of the program.

Topics are centered around P.A.D.’s core values. The following were presentation topics during the previous cycles of the program:

• Diversity in the Pursuit of One’s Best Life: The Compassion I Learned for Others from My Own Journey Learning Myself (Compassion)
• Mindful Courage: Nurturing Resilience for Diverse Law Students (Courage)
• The Inclusive Leader: Taking Intentional, Innovative Action for Justice and Equity (Innovation)
• Maintaining Integrity in the Criminal Justice System (Integrity)
• Race, Leadership, and Social Justice (Diversity)
• The Importance of Building and Protecting Your Reputation (Integrity)
• Respecting Each Other's Differences & Journeys (Compassion)
• Staying Above the Fray: Courageous Conversations in Law (Courage)
• The Importance of Civility in the Legal Profession (Professionalism)
• Becoming a Legal Innovator (Innovation)

How will program participants be paired with a mentor?
Once accepted into the program, law students will complete an intake form to match them with mentors. The pairing process will be conducted by the Leadership Development Committee and P.A.D. Executive Office staff.

This process will match students with mentors based upon their practice areas/career interests, skill set/experience, intersectionality, and additional factors included on the intake form.

What should I expect from my mentor during the program?
Mentors will meet with participants monthly throughout the program. The meeting format will be determined by both the participant and mentor (dependent on location, access to internet/technology, etc.). Mentors support the curriculum by being available for the duration of the program, offering real world connections/networking, supporting students during the service project, and providing general tips/knowledge to help law students become better leaders and learn more about how to take on additional leadership roles in P.A.D.

I have a question that isn’t on this list. Who should I talk to?
Please contact Executive Director Andrew Sagan by email at andrew@pad.org.