Student Legal Services celebrated its 20th anniversary by reminiscing on its service’s growth and sharing future plans.

The nonprofit law firm is dedicated to serving the legal needs of Kent State students and has been an on-campus resource since 2005. This year, they celebrated two decades of a team with fully licensed attorneys who provide legal representation and advice on a wide range of issues for KSU students. 

Chris Sestak, one of SLS’s attorneys and a part of the organization since it first opened in 2005, said, “Young beings get discriminated against easily, when you get to college, you are taking a giant step in life. You are thrown into the deep end of the pool. Grown-ups take advantage of that situation sometimes, and students aren’t exactly aware of their rights.” 

Makayla Sejat, office manager and community outreach coordinator of SLS, said she hopes for SLS to become more known as a resource that is available to all KSU students.

“My goal coming into this was just growing the educational aspect of SLS and the preventative side of things and not necessarily being an emergency service,” Sejat said. “A lot of times, over 17,000 cases are criminal cases, and while that is the bulk of what we do, we are hoping to grow the preventative side and have students recognize that.” 

SLS also offers services such as individual counseling, creating wills and looking over leases. If legal trouble arises that will interrupt a student’s success on campus, SLS will provide solutions or minimize the issue.

“We have grown in 20 years,” Sejat said. “When we first started, it was only one attorney, one paralegal and one secretary. Now, we have two attorneys, a community outreach coordinator, two secretaries and a management director … I am hoping to continue to grow.”

Sejat said SLS’s services are cheap, as students pay $10 per semester for SLS support as part of their tuition.

“We also have really great connections with the university and the city,” Sejat said. “We have worked really hard to build those connections, which provides an easier process. We also understand that they are students, we are trying to work around their schedules, we are trying to make sure that they need to go forth and still be able to be students and be successful.”

SLS is hoping for students to know they are more than just an attorney and are able to provide many resources to students. With it being the 20th anniversary, their goal in the next upcoming years is to become a known resource on campus. 

“We don’t want them to feel overwhelmed with what is going on in their life,” Sejat said. “Helping over 17,000 students is amazing, and being able to give that to them means everything to me. People don’t necessarily understand how hard it is to be a college student. To be someone who can help is why I continue to do what I do.” 

More information about SLS can be found on their website and social media.