But she did not allow her often unstable living conditions as a foster child hold her back in what she wanted to accomplish in life. She is now a first-year student and a leadership scholar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Law, and one of the 15 largest law firms in the world just awarded McLeod a prestigious fellowship.

The Reed Smith Fellowship recognizes students who have excelled in the face of economic and social barriers. The fellowship will provide McLeod with $10,000 for her second year of law school and give her the opportunity to work in Reed Smith’s Washington, D.C., offices over the summer.

McLeod, 27, does not recall a time in her childhood when she was not in Maryland’s foster care system. “I’m very unclear as to how I ended up in the foster care system. My mother lost custody of me and from the time I was 6 months old until I was 8 or 9 I lived with my first foster mother — who I consider my mother,” says McLeod.

“She’s a very important person in my life and set me on the path I am on now. So when I did leave her and go onto other foster and group homes what she taught me stuck with me” McLeod says.

McLeod’s ability to overcome the challenges she faced and her impressive academic achievements are why Reed Smith awarded her the fellowship, the firm’s Director of Diversity Tyree Jones, Jr. says.

“Michelle’s academic achievements are exemplary. She graduated magna cum laude from East Carolina University, that impressed us,” Jones adds. “Overcoming her personal circumstances and not only excelling academically but really giving back to the community by working with organizations like the Big Brothers, Big sisters Program and the Ronald McDonald House. Her academic excellence and commitment to community really made her stand out as an exceptional candidate.”

Though McLeod’s living situation continually changed after she turned 9 years old, she always adapted. “The biggest challenges I faced were educational because I did move around so much and from school to school,” McLeod says. “Kids rapidly adapt to any situation. I was able to adapt to what was going on around me, I was always surrounded by other kids going through the same thing.”