{"id":33511,"date":"2025-10-15T13:26:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T17:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/?p=33511"},"modified":"2026-02-17T13:55:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T18:55:28","slug":"how-2025-valedictorian-shelby-ponton-mother-of-2-made-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/how-2025-valedictorian-shelby-ponton-mother-of-2-made-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How 2025 Valedictorian Shelby Ponton, Mother of 2, Made It Work"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-News-Preview.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with dark hair and a black dress stands before a plaque highlighting the Edward Foreman Award. She holds the award in a black case lined with purple velvet.\" class=\"wp-image-33509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-News-Preview.jpg 590w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-News-Preview-500x331.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Stetson Law&#8217;s 2025 valedictorian is Shelby Ponton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Upon starting law school, 2025 alumna <strong>Shelby Ponton<\/strong> realized she had something not all 1Ls possess: a curiosity about law that made studying a labor of love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI genuinely find it interesting,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sense of fulfillment, combined with her desire to create a better future for her family, motivated the mother of two to work hard no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It paid off: Ponton is Stetson Law\u2019s spring 2025 valedictorian. An animal cruelty investigator and rescue coordinator prior to law school, she was also the <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/stetson-law-honors-exceptional-2025-grads\/\">2025 winner of the prestigious Edward D. Foreman Award<\/a>, a member of Stetson\u2019s Moot Court Board, and editor-in-chief of the <em>Stetson Law Review<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said learning of her valedictorian status was \u201credeeming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAll the long hours, deep thoughts, and sacrifices my loved ones made to help me get to the position I am lucky enough to be in felt worth it,\u201d Ponton said. \u201cMore than anything, I feel excited to one day, when my kids are older, tell them how, with discipline and an extraordinary work ethic, they can accomplish anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Balancing law school and family<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she started law school, Ponton and her husband, <strong>Zachary Ponton<\/strong>, had an infant in tow. Shortly before she started her second year, she gave birth to their second son. Whether she faced a tough assignment or a sleepless child, she would always focus on what was most important.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"788\" src=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-Facebook-etc.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-Facebook-etc.jpg 940w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-Facebook-etc-500x419.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Shelby-Ponton-Valedictorian-October-2025-Facebook-etc-768x644.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Zachary Ponton and 2025 Valedictorian Shelby Ponton with their two sons in May of 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen you have competing priorities in life that you really care about, you find a way to make it happen,\u201d Ponton said. \u201cI love my husband and two boys more than life itself and every time I faced a difficult assignment or long night, just thinking of their laughs was enough to get me through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The opposite was also true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen the kids wouldn\u2019t sleep or there was a blowout diaper, I\u2019d joyfully think about citations and briefs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The family would take their dog, Luna, on walks throughout campus. She said both of her children took their first steps and spoke their first words on the grounds of Stetson Law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The support of loved ones &amp; colleagues<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said her family was a critical source of support, namely her husband, \u201cwho made more sacrifices than I could possibly list to make this dream come true,\u201d she said. She adds that her parents, in-laws, siblings, grandparents, mentors and coaches over the years, colleagues, and friends all factor into her success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also, while many Stetson professors positively impacted Shelby\u2019s trajectory, there are a few who served as constant sources of mentorship: Professor <strong>Tomer Stein<\/strong>, Professor <strong>James Hart<\/strong>, Professor <strong>Erin Okuno<\/strong>, and Professor <strong>Ellen Podgor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serving as editor-in-chief of the <em>Stetson Law Review<\/em> was an unforgettable experience, she said, one that sparked lifelong friendships formed with members of the editorial board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she gave birth just before her 2L year, everyone on <em>SLR <\/em>united to support the family by providing meals to help offset the stress of sleepless nights. \u201cThat goes to show the kind heart of the people involved in this organization, and I am lucky they let me call them my friends,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>On finding your passion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For students who aspire to achieve highly in law school and beyond, Ponton said everyone needs to create an approach to working hard that not only fits their personality and goals, but is sustainable over time \u2013 and to have a strong \u201cwhy\u201d for studying law upon which they can reflect when things get tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFind, build, and lean on your support system,\u201d Ponton said. \u201cDon\u2019t forget that you have control over your own life, your choices, and your future, so take ownership of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now a litigation associate at the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland &amp; Ellis, Ponton currently works on complex commercial litigation cases as well as some active pro bono matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upon starting law school, 2025 alumna Shelby Ponton realized she had something not all 1Ls possess: a curiosity about law that made studying a labor of love. \u201cI genuinely find it interesting,\u201d she said. The sense of fulfillment, combined with her desire to create a better future for her family, motivated the mother of two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":33509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2001,2019,3,6],"tags":[385,1328,2600,1933,2603,2631,1190,2612],"class_list":["post-33511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-life-news","category-featured-campus-life-news","category-news-1","category-student-features","tag-applause","tag-edward-and-bonnie-foreman","tag-lawportal-home-bottom","tag-news","tag-news-and-stories","tag-news-top","tag-stetson-today","tag-valedictorian"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How 2025 Valedictorian Shelby Ponton, Mother of 2, Made It Work - Stetson Law News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stetson Law&#039;s 2025 Valedictorian Shelby Ponton, a mother of two, says the support of family and friends allowed her to aim high.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2025\/10\/15\/how-2025-valedictorian-shelby-ponton-mother-of-2-made-it-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How 2025 Valedictorian Shelby Ponton, Mother of 2, Made It Work - 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