1L Maddy Calick: Building Community and Championing Accessibility

Maddy Calick  has been a driving force for community building and accessibility during her time as 1L Class President at UNC School of Law. Her passion for fostering an inclusive environment and ensuring all students have access to opportunities shines through in the creative events and initiatives she has spearheaded.

One of Calicik’s standout achievements was organizing the Section Olympics, a multi-week competition between the 1L class sections featuring events like kickball, trivia, and capture the flag. She went above and beyond, securing fields, creating a “taskmaster” list of fun challenges students could complete on their own for points, and even hiding a $100 bill as the ultimate prize (which, impressively, no one found!).

“I’m really big on participation. If I can make sure people have access to things, that matters a lot,” Calick explains. “The more ways you could get people to be involved, it’s important. You can’t ask people to have stake in their community without giving them opportunities to participate.”

This philosophy carried through to other events Calick organized, like a March Madness bracket challenge, Pilates classes, and “superlatives” awards voted on by each section. She leverages social media and an extensive leadership group chat to get input, publicize events, and keep her classmates informed and engaged.

Calick’s commitment to accessibility stems from her personal values and professional experience as an education disability paralegal. “What I do for work is getting kids access to school,” she shares. “That drives my work and often drives me personally because I am making sure people have the ability to access things they want and access people that can make a change.”

This dedication was evident from the very beginning of her tenure as 1L Class President. During her campaign, Calick made a point to be present and available to her classmates, setting up a table in the rotunda every day. “I sat there anytime I wasn’t in class,” she recalls. “If people came up to me and wanted to talk, I was there. I wanted people to know I care.”

“I have confidence in myself, so I know I’ll be able to get it done,”  Calick says of her ‘can-do’ attitude. “But I only take on the things I know I can do. And because I’m in charge of it, I know it will happen.”

Looking ahead to her 2L year, Calick plans to continue favorite events like the Olympics and bracket challenges. She also hopes to focus on building routines and systems to support the 1L class and student organizations. Her advice for the next 1L President? “Do events, make opportunities… Get feedback from your classmates as much as possible.”

Beyond her role as 1L Class President, Calick has big plans for her future. She has secured her dream job at a top law firm in New York City, where she will work as an M&A lawyer after graduation. But her commitment to Carolina Law doesn’t end there – she also plans to strengthen the Tar Heel connection in New York. “I’m going to collect all the Carolina Law alums, and we’re going to have a better network than we have now,” she declares. “And how do I know that? It’s because I’m going to take care of it.”