Well-Traveled Lexington Freeman Is Set for Her Next Move
This nomadic lawyer-to-be found a home at Saint Mary’s. She took full advantage of the Gael student experience and, near the end of her journey, displayed an act of kindness toward one special couple that won’t soon forget her.
Having moved around with her family several times while living in states including New York, Oregon, Nevada, and Florida, Lexington Freeman ’25 understands how disorienting it can be to arrive at a new home where familiar faces are rare.
“I know what it’s like to be the new person in town,” she says. “I’ve been that person so many times, so I know what a huge difference it can make to meet even one new friend and make a connection.”
That perspective and sense of empathy persuaded Lexi, as her family and friends call her, to walk over to Siena House one day last July, knock on the door, and welcome new SMC President Roger Thompson and his wife, Debbie, to campus. They were then settling into their new home after relocating from Oregon, so Lexi decided to present them with some freshly baked cookies and a flower arrangement as a token of kindness.
“I thought it would be nice to introduce myself,” she says. While she knew President Thompson would soon have ample opportunity to make personal connections with various members of the campus community, she thought her visit to the Thompsons’ new home might be especially appreciated by “Ms. Deb,” as the President’s wife is known around campus. “I didn’t know her at the time, but I wanted her and the President to know that they were super welcome here,” Freeman says.
“Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to see a young woman standing in front of me holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of what appeared to be cookies!” recalls Debbie Thompson. “She immediately introduced herself and said she wanted to welcome the President and me to campus.”
Debbie Thompson was struck by Lexi’s confident graciousness that, as she puts it, seems from another time. “Her gesture was so warm and carefree; the repeated feelings that I had been experiencing about how special Saint Mary’s is were now validated by a student.”
Embracing the full student experience
When Freeman first arrived at SMC three years ago, she planned to pursue medicine. But a class led by Professor Patrizia Longo of SMC’s Politics Department clicked and sparked a fascination with legal matters, leading to a change in majors and an internship in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office. In May, Freeman will cross the commencement stage with a degree in Politics and History and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.
Like many Gael students, Freeman says she was attracted to Saint Mary’s tight-knit, small-town feel.“Saint Mary’s feels like its own little community,” she says. “You can go to the city, you can quickly get to Walnut Creek, and you have so much available to you here, but when you’re on campus, it feels like its own safe space.”
With her family in Florida, Freeman says it would have been understandable had she felt isolated or lonely during her first few days on campus. But to the contrary, she says the Saint Mary’s tradition of having current students help new Gaels and their families with their transition during Move-In Day and other Weekend of Welcome (WoW) activities made all the difference.
She notes that she still has friends from her initial WoW group, and she has shown her appreciation for that early experience by serving as a Resident Advisor (RA) during her final two years at Saint Mary’s.
“I get to see all of the Weekend of Welcome activities from a different lens (as an RA), and it’s cool because I get to help create that community that made Saint Mary’s feel so much like home for me,” she says.
Settling in so quickly not only made her feel at ease right away but also prompted her to explore and take advantage of the robust student experience Saint Mary’s works to create for its Gaels. She participated on the Macken Speech and Debate team, competed in Club Volleyball, and engaged in various activities at the Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center, such as yoga, pilates, swimming (the pool is “my favorite place to be”), and a whitewater rafting excursion. She also participated in student government, serving as her Associated Students class chair during her first year.
“Sometimes people have a misconception that there’s not a lot going on at Saint Mary’s because it’s a small school,” she says. “But the more you put into it, the more that’s going to come out of it.”
One of Freeman’s most memorable experiences at Saint Mary’s was the January Term earlier this year. She traveled to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and took part in the course Living in the Costa Rican Blue Zone: The Art of Being Whole through Yoga, Food, Nature, and Community, taught by instructor Dana Lawton.
“It was absolutely incredible,” says Freeman. She remains grateful for the January Term Travel Scholarship that was awarded to her, which paid for three-quarters of the trip’s expenses. “I wouldn't have been able to go without that,” she says. Freeman was also a recipient of a presidential scholarship, and she notes that the generous scholarship funds she’s received during her time at Saint Mary’s will alleviate much of the financial burden that she anticipates at law school.
Next stop: law school
Freeman’s outreach to the Thompsons last summer came at a pivotal moment in her Saint Mary’s career. She had just started to apply to various law schools, having cultivated an interest in constitutional law during her time at Saint Mary’s. Nine months later, after recently being accepted into the Wake Forest School of Law, she’s a step closer to her goal of clerking for a federal judge or even donning a judge’s robe herself one day.
As she prepares to graduate and leave Saint Mary’s for the next phase of her life, Freeman feels particular gratitude toward a special group of people on campus who she says paved the way for her success: the College’s faculty.
“My professors have all been amazing,” she says. She points to the help she received with law school applications, letters of recommendation for internships, and the willingness of faculty to assist in any way they could.
“Even professors who are on sabbatical leave or those whose class I had as a first-year student are so encouraging and eager to help,” she says. “I feel like it’s an experience I wouldn’t have had elsewhere.” She also credits the Student Life team at Saint Mary’s for working behind the scenes to deliver programming and experiences for her and her classmates.
“We wouldn't be able to do what we're doing without all of them.”
