By Gina Hannah

“Blessed are the flexible for they shall never be bent out of shape” is the mantra of MSJDN’s 2018 Making the Right Moves Volunteer Service Awardee, Adrianne Blake. Adrianne is an activist and avid volunteer for her law school, community, and MSJDN. She is married to US Marine Corps Major Jared Blake, and currently lives in the Baltimore area of Maryland.

Adrianne joined MSJDN in August 2016 and became an active member right away. Putting her webinar skills to use from a previous position as a government information services officer, Adrianne volunteered for the Webinar Committee. In June 2017, she became the Chair of the Webinar Committee where she markets, facilitates, and publishes webinar content to MSJDN’s website in addition to coordinating and collaborating with speakers for the webinars.

Currently in her third year of law school at the University of Baltimore School of Law, Adrianne is the managing editor of the law review. Her article “You’re Fired! Special Prosecutor Removal Authority and the Separation of Powers” is a print Comment published in the school’s law review (scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol48/iss1/5). In 2017, she won the University of Baltimore School of Law Journal Write-on Competition. Additionally, she has two Issues to Watch online publications: “Error: Website Inaccessible” and Designer Babies, Heritable Diseases, and Patent Applications: Legal Issues Surrounding CRISPR Gene Editing Technology. 

Not only is she a top student with a 3.349 GPA, Adrianne was also appointed the first Director of Mental Health at her law school, advocating for law student mental health awareness. She promotes mindfulness, wellness and a healthy school/life balance for students stressed with the rigors of law school. Additionally, Adrianne is advocating for a change in the Maryland bar application so attorneys who suffer from mental illness are not deterred from seeking treatment due to biased application questions.

Adrianne is the President of the Military and Government Law Association, a student organization that focuses on presenting different aspects of the government and military to law students interested in careers in those fields. Adrianne revamped the fledgling student organization by coordinating a leadership conference in Fall 2018, promoting fundraisers, arranging a Pentagon tour, and connecting students to the federal government and military for an in-depth perspective.

In the summer of 2017, Adrianne clerked for the Honorable Mary Kramer, Circuit Court Judge of Howard County. In Spring 2018, she was an attorney extern in the State Attorney’s Office for Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Additionally, Adrianne was a Coast Guard JAG intern at the US Coast Guard Headquarters in the summer of 2018. This summer, Adrianne will be working at the Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy.

Adrianne enjoys volunteering because it helps her connect with people, advocate for military spouses and law students, and pursue her advocacy interests in government and mental health. Whether it is school, community or job, whatever Adrianne pursues, she jumps right in and gives everything that she’s got. She bends toward the cause that needs her and produces admirable results.

Please extend a heartful congratulations to Adrianne Blake, the 2018 Making the Right Moves Volunteer Service Award recipient.