Spring ’22 Valedictorian Jessica Zelitt: A Passion for Health Policy
When it comes to the often-complex relationship between healthcare and the law, recent Stetson Law graduate Jessica Shoshana Zelitt is well-versed.
The Lakewood Ranch, Florida native, who was named Stetson Law’s Spring 2022 valedictorian, has been managing Type 1 Diabetes since she was eight years old. She now hopes the knowledge and expertise she gained at Stetson Law will eventually position her to take on a role where she can help shape public health policy.
Keeping a full calendar
Zelitt’s time at Stetson can best be described as active. She was part of Stetson Law Review, where she harnessed her passion for healthcare policy to research and write “Pay or Die: Evaluating the United States Insulin Pricing Crisis and Realistic Solutions to End It,” an article that appeared in Volume 50, Issue 3 of the publication.
In February of 2022, Zelitt was part of the Dispute Resolution Board team that swept the Florida Bar International Law section’s Richard DeWitt Memorial Vis Pre-Moot event in Miami.
She participated in the Honors Program, a year-long legal research and writing endeavor available only to top students.
She was recognized for each of these activities at the college’s May 2022 Honors and Awards Ceremony.
Setting a goal early on
On top of it all, Zelitt was applying herself in the classroom in the hope that she would become valedictorian – an aspiration she developed after her first semester of classes went incredibly well. She said she is incredibly proud of becoming valedictorian but recognizes the challenging work of all her classmates.
“It’s truly an honor because I know how hard everyone in my class has worked over the course of their law school career,” Zelitt said. “I think it’s the culmination of a lot of hard work and struggle on my own part, but my peers have played a big role in encouraging me and inspiring me to accomplish what I’ve done.”
While steadfast motivation was clearly a key to her success, Zelitt cites remaining engaged through all her campus activities as a factor. Being involved with the law review and Dispute Resolution Board helped her view her studies through a more practical lens.
To Law Professor Stephanie Vaughan, who helped coach and mentor Zelitt ahead of the Vis Pre-Moot event, her success demonstrates how participation in extracurricular advocacy activities can help deepen a student’s understanding of the law.
“I am positive that there is a strong connection between involvement in activities like advocacy boards and law review to a student’s overall success in law school,” Vaughan said. “Jessica’s having achieved valedictorian status is certainly a case-in-point, and I am incredibly proud to have been a part of her experience at Stetson Law.”
Staying the course in unusual times
Prior to coming to Stetson Law, Zelitt first majored in physics at University of South Florida before changing her major to public health with a minor in political science. She then knew law school was in the cards and, wanting to remain in the Tampa Bay area, set her sights on Stetson Law.
Perhaps ironically for someone aspiring to work in the arena of healthcare policy, much of her experience at Stetson Law was shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic, an unprecedented healthcare crisis that led to multiple semesters of virtual classes, masking, and other precautions.
“This really wasn’t a normal experience,” Zelitt said. “But I’m proud that I made it through and everybody else did too because it was truly unprecedented.”
Zelitt is set to start her career at Adams and Reese, LLP in Sarasota, where she plans to put her knowledge, experience, and passion to use as a practitioner.
Post date: July 19, 2022
Media contact: Kate Bradshaw
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