My externship experience was with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District in Brooklyn.
And I started up there my second year in the fall.
As soon as I got there, I was placed on a case that was just getting set to go to trial,
so that I ended up spending the entire semester prepping witnesses and going over depositions,
leading right into the trial in November and December.
It easily was one of the best experiences I've had here at Fordham.
My experiences at Fordham were fantastic. What originally drew me to Fordham
was its location right here in the heart of Manhattan.
I grew up in a small town and I went to, I did my undergraduate degree at Princeton,
so I went from a small town to an even smaller town.
So I was really excited to be in the big city for law school.
And it's really been such a fantastic compliment to my education.
You know, the city really does become part of your classroom.
I'm from Salem, Oregon, and I chose Fordham Law because it's in New York City
and I figured if I was going to practice law, I might as well do it where the Center of Action is.
Going to school in New York City is great if you want, particularly if you want to practice law in New York,
because you have so many opportunities to work in the court systems here.
The Southern District and Eastern District are both here, as are all the New York State courts.
It's just a great opportunity to get to work with a judge or work at an attorney's office all here at your fingertips.
I have a passion for law that is equally matched by an entrepreneurial spirit.
So when I was looking for law schools, I looked for those schools that had a strong legal training program,
but also that offered global business skills, and I found that here at Fordham.
What impressed me most about Fordham Law School was first its location, being across the street from Lincoln Center,
and also the family feel I got while I went to law school there, because I still have friends that I can still rely on today.
People at Fordham are really friendly. Law school can be pretty intense, and for the most part, everyone's really welcoming,
and they have amazingly diverse backgrounds. You have people that are biochemical engineers, you have dancers,
and everyone really has a strong sense of being friends, and we're all in this together.
Before law school, I worked at a number of non-profit organizations, so service is something that's always been important to me,
and when thinking about where to go to law school, Fordham, with its motto in the service of others,
really inspired me to want to be a part of this community.
The Stein Scholars program is a great resource at this school, and Fordham's lucky to have such an involved public interest resource center.
It's a group of about 20 people each year that have backgrounds in community service or providing non-profit work to the indigent or needy.
I personally did teach for America before law school, and it's great to have this society of people that are really interested in things besides what you see
on law and order all the time, but things that really matter to a lot of people and give you this great resource,
both for job placement and for socializing while you're here.
The Career Planning Center has been extremely helpful. In fact, I received both my summer internships, interviewing right here on campus,
as well as the full-time job I'll be starting in the fall.
The alumni network is very strong at Fordham Law School. They're willing to help out, give advice.
If you have questions about job opportunities and career, they're always willing to take the time out of their day and to assist you,
and I think that is a very, very important part of my time at Fordham Law School, but also it'll be very important when I graduate.
I came straight from undergrad to law school, and so I really don't have an idea of what I exactly want to do after law school,
but that's okay, and you can come here, and there's so many different opportunities to get involved to help you decide what kind of law you want to study in the future.
Law school is everything I expected it to be. It's tough, but it's also rewarding.
Professors here expect a lot of you, but they also care about your interests and are responsive.
And there's a lot of camaraderie in the halls and in and outside of the classroom.
There are many groups and organizations to be a part of at Fordham.
I chose to be a part of the Intellectual Property Media and Entertainment Law Journal my second year.
I've been involved in the Latin American Law Students Association all three years,
and also the Academic Enrichment Program as a teaching assistant.
This summer I'll be a Pollock Fellow with Chief Judge Prescott in the Southern District of New York.
I'll be working with her to write a research paper on the administration of the courts in the Southern District.
Currently I'm enrolled in a dual degree program at Fordham Law.
The other program I'm enrolled in is a master's program called IPED.
The acronym stands for International Political Economic Development.
My concentration in the master's program is International Banking and Finance.
Fordham has three different study abroad programs for first year students to do in the summer.
I'm going to Ireland this summer and I have a judicial internship with the Supreme Court of Ireland.
One of the key reasons I chose Fordham Law is because of its international focus.
Actually last summer I studied in Korea as part of the Fordham SKKU International Summer Institute.
I got to study alongside some very smart Korean students and I got to intern at a multinational as part of the program.
When you study abroad the focus is on comparative studies.
So you get to learn the legal system of other countries which of course enriches your understanding of our legal system.
I think my favorite classes that I've had here are the classes that have actually gotten me out of the classroom.
And there's been so many of those throughout the years.
Whether it's doing an internship in town or whether it's working with client development in clinics.
These are the type of things that really help fill the practical skill set that I've always wanted out of law school.
When I meet incoming students who are worried about how tough law school is going to be, I tell them that's true.
Law school is going to be really hard but Fordham makes it a great experience with the way students work together and the very supportive professors.
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