Outstanding Professional Program Award

What began as a mentoring initiative has grown into one of Phi Alpha Delta’s most selective and intensive leadership experiences. The Growing Our Leadership Diversity Program (G.O.L.D Program) is a fully immersive weekend built for law students from diverse backgrounds, combining guided leadership assessments, interactive workshops, and direct access to legal recruiters and Phi Alpha Delta. leadership. This year, the program drew 75 applicants nationwide for just 15 seats, and its reach extended across 12 different chapters.

Held in partnership with the Indianapolis Bar Association, the 2026 program packed in sessions like “Claiming Your Space,” focused on professional identity and self-advocacy, and a masterclass on the Art of Negotiation, alongside individualized resume and digital-presence audits, career trajectory panels, and one-to-one mentoring. Scholars also received a financial consultation on law school loans and helped shape programming ideas for Phi Alpha Delta’s upcoming national convention.

The program’s selectivity is by design. Rather than casting a wide net, Phi Alpha Delta built G.O.L.D. to be an intensive, small-cohort experience where each Scholar receives real, individualized attention, from a financial consultation on law school loans to direct input into programming for the fraternity’s upcoming national convention. That intentional structure has helped the program earn genuine press coverage and deepen Phi Alpha Delta’s partnership with the Indianapolis Bar Association.

As one recent profile of the program put it, for many of the students who travel across the country to attend, G.O.L.D. offers something they can’t find anywhere else: a weekend with people who understand exactly what it means to navigate the legal profession as a minority student. That sense of belonging, paired with real professional preparation, is what makes G.O.L.D. more than a mentoring program; it’s a launching pad.

PFA is proud to recognize Phi Alpha Delta’s G.O.L.D. Scholars Program as our 2026 Outstanding Professional Program Award Winner!