Nadia Mazza, a Flex 1 student, was recognized with the top prize for her poem about the shared experiences among the inaugural cohort’s first months in the Elon University School of Law Flex Program
Students and faculty at the Elon University School of Law Flex Program in Charlotte recently borrowed a line from the Greensboro campus to host their first poetry competition.
Their poems mused on the challenges, camaraderie and connections made by the inaugural cohort of law students at Elon University’s Charlotte campus.
At Elon Law in Greensboro, the annual “High Rhymes and Misdemeanors” Poetry Slam is a celebrated fall trimester tradition entering its seventh year. Students compete for judged prizes and audience awards for poetic riffs on justice and law. Coordinated by faculty and staff in the Legal Method and Communication Program (LMC) with support from Elon’s Center for Writing Excellence, the event marks the National Council of Teachers of English’s National Day on Writing.
Charlotte’s competition coincided with National Grammar Day on March 4 and was held during the Flex Program’s weekly Evening Docket, where students gather over refreshments — an echo of Elon’s College Coffee and Elon Law’s Greensboro Coffee and Conversation. Charlotte’s poet laureate, Jay Ward, opened the competition with a poem about gentrification in the Queen City and served as a judge.
Three Flex Program students — Nadia Mazza, Peyton Lindsay and Jack Randolph — recited their original works to an audience including most of the 36 students in the inaugural cohort. Assistant Professor Kris Caudle, who is teaching the program’s first-year LMC course, also shared a poem and emceed.
“I was blown away by the authenticity and originality of each student poem, and I admire their courage to step out of their comfort zone and share their work with peers,” Caudle said. “We hope that this event grows into an annual showcase for our law students to enhance community, express their creativity and build oral communication skills that they will use in practice.”
Mazza won first prize for her poem, “Original Thoughts.” Encouraged to compete by Caudle, she took the opportunity to poke fun at some of Elon Law’s most-loved faculty while voicing the challenges of balancing a full-time job and family commitments with part-time legal studies.
“I wanted it to be light-hearted but sincere. There are a lot of inside jokes and references,” said Mazza, who holds a Master of Public Health degree and a full-time job in Asheville, North Carolina. “The Flex Program is rigorous and full of support. Being together three or four nights a week lends itself to building community. We all have this shared experience and shared goal for the program to be successful.”
The competitions allow students to break from the exacting nature of legal writing to creatively express themselves around a broad range of legal topics, said Associate Professor and LMC Director Caroleen Dineen.
Writing Specialist Janet Keefer proposed and organized the first “High Rhymes and Misdemeanors” competition in Greensboro. Since 2019, she has assisted the annual event by recruiting judges and developing a rubric to gauge entries. This year, she encouraged Emma Butterworth, Flex Program staff director, to bring the competition to Charlotte during the program’s LMC winter trimester course.
“We want our law students to be clear and skilled writers,” Keefer said. “The law doesn’t exist without writing. It’s very important to be able to convey complex ideas in a way that can be understood by the public.”
Student and Faculty Performances
“Original Thoughts” — Nadia Mazza, Flex 1 Student
“A 1L Haiku (Or Two)” — Peyton Lindsay, Flex 1 Student
“Little Bird” — Jack Randolph, Flex 1 Student
“Your Spark” — Kris Caudle, Assistant Professor
Flex Program Poetry Slam Judges
Jay Ward, Charlotte poet laureate
Emma Butterworth, Flex Program staff director
Caroleen Dineen, associate professor of law and director of the Legal Method and Communication Program
About Elon Law
Elon Law is the preeminent school for engaged and experiential learning in law. With a focus on learning by doing, it integrates traditional classroom instruction with a required, full-time residency-in-practice field placement for all full-time students during the winter or spring of their second year. The law school’s distinctive curriculum offers a logically sequenced program of professional preparation and is accomplished in 2.5 years, which provides exceptional value by lowering tuition and permitting graduates early entry into their careers.
Elon Law has graduated more than 1,500 alumni since opening its doors in 2006. Its annual enrollment now tops 440 students and the law school is regularly featured in PreLaw Magazine’s “Best Schools for Practical Training” rankings, reaching #4 in the nation in 2024. The Elon Law Flex Program, a part-time, in-person program of legal study for working professionals began in Fall 2024 at Elon University’s Charlotte campus.