STUDENT AND ALUMNI PROFILES

Professional experience prior to Law School:

I came straight through from undergrad!

What I Am Hoping to Do with My Law Degree:

Clerking and getting trial experience right away. Ultimately, I would love to balance private and public sector work, and advocate for abuse prevention and youth empowerment.

My Best Experience at Penn Law:

It is hard to choose just one! Overall, one of the best things I have experienced is the constant realization that the “collegial, community-oriented” Penn Law slogan is actually true. One of the most memorable experiences was surviving being on call for an hour and a half straight (spanning two back-to-back makeup Torts classes)!

Professor Who Influenced Me Most:

Professor Catherine Struve - I had her for first semester Civil Procedure, and connected with her teaching style immediately. She epitomized my image of a law school professor: extremely intelligent, charismatic, committed to teaching (as well as professional, research pursuits), and to her students. I actually liked being called on in class and came out with a thorough understanding of procedure.

My Favorite Course:

Con Law was my favorite first year course, in large part due to the way Prof. Matthew Adler. By the end of the semester I had a solid understanding of the doctrine, but perhaps more significantly, I felt aware of the lingering problems, puzzles, and policy concerns surrounding the doctrine. As a result of that class, I will be writing my Journal comment on a 14th amendment issue.

An Example of How the Law School's Cross-disciplinary Approach Influences My Legal Education:

I think that all of my classes thus far have really reflected the cross-disciplinary approach to the law. Learning not only the law, but also the economic repercussions of legal rules, the policy implications of court decisions, and the theoretical/philosophical underpinnings of our legal system has been very intellectually rewarding and has also made me feel prepared for any future career pathway.

Meaningful Cross-disciplinary Experience at Penn:

I studied Public Policy as an undergrad and loved how it allowed me to tie intellectual concepts to real people and communities. I was unsure if my law school professors would ground case law in the same way and was really thrilled to find that so many of my first year profs not only discussed policy concerns, but even allowed us room to discuss those issues on the final.

Penn Law is known for its collegial environment. Why is collegiality important to a legal education? How has it affected your legal education?

Law school is inherently difficult, intense, and challenging. To add competitiveness or tension on top of that would be distracting and make an already tough experience even more difficult. Penn's collegial atmosphere made me feel comfortable asking questions in class, struggling through difficult concepts with my classmates, and generally enjoying law school on a day to day level.

My Favorite Philadelphia Moment:

Our 1Month 1L & Last Exam of 1L celebrations and discovering the foot trail along the Schuylkill River during the first few days of Spring.

What I'm Most Proud Of:

The amount of effort and commitment I have put forth in each of my law school endeavors.

My Extracurricular Activities at Penn Law:

Penn Law Review
Penn Law Mock Trial Team
Morris-Fellow for Incoming 1Ls
Post-Acceptance Committee (1L)

What I Did For Public Interest:

I primarily focused on classes during 1L, but did work some with the Domestic Violence Unit, and EJF events/auction preparation. This year, I plan to return to DVU and also work with CASAC, student clinic.

My Favorite Place or Activity on the University Campus:

I love the feel of the campus, mostly because of the gorgeous quads and old buildings. It's a really nice retreat.

Advice for 1L

Find what works for you, and don't worry about what other people are doing. Some people will want to get involved in a lot right away, others will only do class work. Everyone will have different methods of reading, studying, etc and after the first month or so you will find what works for you - just be patient and then stick with it!

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