Second-year law student Ashley Winford is the founding president of the Federal Agency Interest Society, a newly created student organization this year at the NIU College of Law. The mission of FAIS is to enhance student engagement and interest in working for federal departments and agencies post-graduation.
The Federal Agency Interest Society is affectionally called FAIS (pronounced “phase”) because the federal application process requires several complex phases that many view as barriers to entry. Their goal is to help students better prepare to break these barriers in order to be the best candidates for positions within federal government.
Ashley’s driving force behind FAIS is to increase the knowledge and access for students interested in working for a federal agency. Ashley learned from experience that “it can be difficult and intimidating trying to figure out the best path to entry within this arena. I wanted to bring a unique opportunity to students to familiarize themselves with employment in federal departments and agencies such as the FBI, DHS, DEA, and DOJ. I hope to show from this that the interests of our student body are diverse across many fields of law.”
Ashley also serves as the vice president of the Black Law Students Association and social chair of the Student Bar Association.
