As an Upper Dublin High School senior, Derrick Lawson knew he wanted to be an attorney, but did not yet know what type of law he wanted to practice.
The 2018 graduate played football for a few years of his high school career but devoted all four years to playing basketball and lacrosse. His head lacrosse coach taught at Hatboro-Horsham High School – the alma mater for Edward Taylor Coombs – and knew the standout athlete and scholar.
Before beginning his undergraduate studies at Penn State University, Derrick won a scholarship from the Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation, which was created in honor of the class of 2010 Hatter.
“At that time, I was committed to go to Penn State University,” he said. “I wanted to get my four years out of the way.”
The scholarship helped ease Derrick and his family’s financial burden those first few years at Penn State main campus. Since then, he has paid it forward by participating in the ETC Foundation’s annual 5K run, which helps support the annual scholarship program. To date, more than 100 students have received scholarships totaling more than $1 million.
While at Penn State, Derrick served as president of the Kappa Alpha Psi Inc. fraternity. He also participated in the Minorities in Sports organization, as well as the Multicultural Law Association.
Career Plans
Following his graduation from Penn State and the completion of his first year at Syracuse University College of Law, Derrick enrolled in the U.S. Marine Corps’ Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia during summer 2024 and became a commissioned officer. While finishing his last two years of law school, Derrick is an inactive reservist.
“I was interested in national security law and working for the federal government,” Derrick said. “I did want to be a Marine when I was a kid. When I found out I could commission in the Marine Corp and still serve as a lawyer it seemed like the best option for me.”
When he’s not carrying out military roles, Derrick participates in Syracuse College’s Black Law Students Association, as well as the National Security Student Association.
After college, he will return to Quantico, where he will undergo six months of training in order to become a judge advocate. In that role, Derrick would handle various legal tasks, including prosecuting or defending crimes that service members are involved in or need to resolve; operational law, which would involve advising on the rules of warfare or rules of engagement in the event he is deployed to other countries.
“I don’t know where I would be yet,” he said. “That comes after the final six months of training. I would love to get stationed in Japan, Okinawa.”
Derrick would be stationed somewhere for two years before rotating elsewhere. He is committed to four years active service, in addition to the reserve service he is carrying out as a college graduate student.
Being in class with a few judge advocates from West Point piqued his interest in a military career.
“I just figured the military always needs attorneys,” he said.
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