Welcome Legal Extern Tayler Walton

My name is Tayler Walton and I have the absolute privilege of working for Alabama Appleseed this summer as their legal intern. I am a rising 3L at Cumberland School of Law and I could not be more ecstatic to be working for an organization like Appleseed. I went into law school wanting to own my own Second Chance nonprofit and the week of my law school orientation– Mrs. Carla Crowder came to my school to talk about Alabama Appleseed and it felt like a sign that I was where I needed to be.

I come from a family of servitude and it has always been a passion of mine to serve in some way but it was not until freshman year of undergrad that I knew specifically what my passions were. I had taken a sociology course called Deviant Behavior and that class taught me about the disparities, gaps and injustice within our criminal justice system. I grew up very sheltered and was unaware of the struggles that Black and Brown people combat everyday. That one undergrad class is what ignited my fire to want to become a lawyer and be a part of the change I wanted to see. Not only this but representation matters. The people most affected by the system look like me and my family and the impact that representation can have for these men and women who have their spirits broken time and time again is unquantifiable.

My purpose in this life is to be a voice for the voiceless and it is people like Mrs. Crowder and organizations like Appleseed that have provided me an opportunity to do so. Working for Appleseed is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To be a part of an organization that challenges the status quo– magnifies injustice, as well as provides solutions to the injustice has been life changing. This organization is a family through and through and I can only hope to continue to be a part of it for years to come.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to work with Alabama Appleseed. I will continue to be a sponge and absorb as much as I can from this experience and hopefully in the near future I can create a sister organization to Appleseed that fights the system alongside it.