Temple Law rising 3L Nick Hunsicker (they/them) is a 2025 recipient of the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s Law Student Leadership Award. It is the highest honor conferred by the Association on law students.
During their 2L year, Hunsicker served as the President of Temple’s OUTLaw, where they grew membership in the organization, organized multiple charity events, and advocated on behalf of queer and trans law students. In response to the Trump Administration’s Executive Orders, Hunsicker led a “Know Your Rights” event for law students and community members. They also interned at the Mazzoni Center during their 2L year, working with queer and trans clients on name changes, adoptions, and discrimination claims. Hunsicker wrote their Law Review article on the importance of online privacy for queer and trans children. Prior to law school, they worked in fundraising and lobbying at Mural Arts Philadelphia, the largest public art organization in the United States. After law school, Hunsicker plans to work at a litigation-focused firm, where they will hone their skills as an advocate and provide pro bono representation to the queer and trans community in Philadelphia.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve the vibrant queer and trans community at Temple Law, and I am very grateful to be recognized by the National LGBTQ+ Bar,” said Hunsicker. “I am inspired by the many Black and Brown queer and trans folks leading the way.”
Hunsicker was nominated for the award by Professor Dara Purvis with supporting letters from classmates Kristyn Drummond and Rhys Hood. In her letter to the awards committee, Purvis highlighted Hunsicker’s exceptional leadership and ethic of service. “Nick has led OUTlaw to unprecedented heights this year (including affiliating with the LGBTQ+ Bar!), and they richly deserve this award,” wrote Professor Purvis. “I do not have space in the word count to include all of the activities Nick has spearheaded, but a few high points include a screening (including live performances!) of Rocky Horror Picture Show, a panel of LGBTQ+ practicing attorneys to give students practical advice about job-searching while LGBTQ+, an event in early February discussing Trump’s executive orders including a trans Temple Law alum practicing in Philadelphia to discuss changes to identity documents on the ground, study sessions, and meetings to write welcoming notes to admitted LGBTQ+ students.”
Kristyn Drummond, who served on OUTlaw’s executive board with Hunsicker, emphasized not just their service but their care for others around them. “I’ve witnessed (Nick) not only foster a more inclusive space in our legal community but create one brimming with love and queer joy. This effort is impossible not to notice, in a time when it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed as queer people- because it is impossible to miss how deeply they prioritize it. As President, they have ensured that our fellow queer law students feel protected on campus and, just as importantly, that we are visible—greatly expanding our organization’s reach, fostering inclusion, and combating loneliness,” she wrote.
“Outside of OUTLaw, Nick has provided me with great advice as I have navigated the overwhelming process of applying to summer associate positions,” added OUTLaw member Rhys Hood. “They told me about networking events that I would never have known were happening, informed me of programs for diverse law students, and shared their own experiences in law firms. Whenever I had questions about navigating business dress, the interview process, and professional expectations as an openly queer person, Nick was quick to respond to my texts and share their advice.”
Hunsicker obtained a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in Media Studies from the University of Amsterdam, with a concentration in New Media & Digital Culture. Their scholarly work focused primarily on gay men online, from diva worship on Twitter to Chechen state violence enacted through Grindr. They are interested in the intersection of law, technology, and identity. Since Hunsicker was a high schooler in suburban Pennsylvania, they’ve consistently been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Currently a summer associate at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Hunsicker hopes to do work that uplifts low-income queer and trans Philadelphians, whether that be through pro bono work in Big Law or other avenues that become available to them.
Regardless of what comes next, Hunsicker’s commitment to the LGBTQ+ community at Temple Law and beyond is unwavering: “Now, more than ever, it is imperative that queer and trans law students are in community and in solidarity, with a laser-like focus on utilizing the law as an instrument for building our collective queer future.”