First Week Law Dawg Reflections
Hear what is top-of-mind for fellow Law Dawgs as they return to school from all over the country and the world to learn how to advocate for justice here in William H. Gates Hall.
Tricia Charfauros, 2L
From: Agat, Guam
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Charfauros: This time last year I was freaking out about being in law school but also feeling really grateful, privileged and excited to be here. I decided to jump in.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Charfauros: I’m excited to get into the courses, especially Water Law, which I had never heard of.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Charfauros: Water Law combines my purpose and passion for areas of environmental law, as well as indigenous rights and political sovereignty.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Charfauros: I hope that I become a better advocate for not only myself, my community in Guam and other communities like mine, but that I can also better engage in the conversations pertinent to our resources and political status.
Leti Ferreira, LL.M.
From: Sydney, Australia and Bellevue, Washington
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Ferreira: I was working and parenting my two kids.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Ferreira: I'm in the Sustainable International Development (SID) track and I haven't met this year's cohort yet. So, I'm super looking forward to meeting them because my cohort from two years ago are like my family now. I’m looking forward to meeting these guys and seeing if there's a connection there as well.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Ferreira: I've only got one class—Business Organizations. It’s all that I can take because of my workload and my parenting obligations.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Ferreira: I want to finish all the credits that I need to qualify for my LL.M. so I can start studying for the bar.
Anna Ferron, 3L
From: Mercer Island, Washington
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Ferron: I was stressing about what I was going to write for my comment in the Washington Law Review. I was starting all of my new classes and being really nervous, but by the third year I'm not really feeling any of that anxiety anymore. It's just fun to be back and see everyone.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Ferron: I'm taking the externship seminar with Jessica West and I actually think that'll be pretty fun because you get to hear what everybody else is doing at work. We met this week and everyone's doing such different things. It'll be fun to check in and see what we're all doing. I’m excited there will be no homework!
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Ferron: I am externing for a federal judge in the Western District of Washington and I’m really excited to see the interworking of the federal court system. I'm also helping run the Washington Law Review, so I'm excited to work with the 2L students and help them choose their topics and write their comments. My own comment is getting published in a week or two. Mine is about a case called City of Seattle vs. Long. It’s about unhoused and unsheltered people and people living in their cars in Washington, and whether them violates the excessive fines clause of the Constitution.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Ferron: I would like to get a job. As far as things on campus, I'm hoping for more fun things around school. One year we were fully masked and obviously COVID is spiking again right now, but it feels different, so maybe we can be together more socially.
Mack McCann, 1L
From: Rome, Georgia
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
McCann: I was in the Navy. I was stationed in Bremerton, but for the last three and a half years I was in Spain.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
McCann: I look forward to getting to know my classmates.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
McCann: They're all required this first year, but one that seems more interesting is Legal Analysis, Writing and Research.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
McCann: By the end of this quarter, I hope that I adjust personally and get into the flow of law school.
Arshia Nilchian, 2L
From: Bellevue, Washington
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Nilchian: I was feeling pretty intimidated at first, but once I started my actual classes, I really enjoyed them. I liked my professors in my first quarter. Torts and Civil Procedure were probably the most interesting classes that I took. Around this time last year I was meeting my section, a small group that I had all my classes with. It was great meeting them and they're probably my best friends in law school now.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Nilchian: I will be happy to have taken classes that I've gotten to pick this quarter. Last year, we didn't really get any choice with what our classes were so it is nice to be able to choose what we're learning.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Nilchian: I'm taking Federal Courts this quarter with Benjamin Halasz, the same professor I had Contracts with last year. I really liked his teaching style, so I'm happy to have this new class. I'm also happy to do Washington Law Review.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Nilchian: I will have delved a little bit more into kind of the areas of law that I'm most interested in.
Rosaline Oppong, M.J.
From: Tacoma, Washington
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Oppong: I was working full-time managing cases as a social worker.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Oppong: I hope to become a strong candidate for law school after completing my M.J. degree and to learn through trial and error.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Oppong: I’m interested in taking all of them this quarter. I really like reading, so I am interested in getting into the case readings and class participation.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Oppong: I hope to have good grades, good connections with professors and I hope to grow as a person in developing critical thinking skills.
Naman Patel, 2L
From: Columbus, OH
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Patel: I was freaking out on my first day of law school because I got cold-called in Eric Schnapper’s class!
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Patel: I am looking forward to taking seminars and more discussion-based classes. This year will be a different learning environment compared to the lecture-based classes of my first year.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Patel: I took a lot of international relations classes as an Ohio State undergrad, so I am looking forward to Clark Lombardi’s Comparative Constitutional Law class which combines international relations and the law.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Patel: I hope I’m happy with the class discussions and that I’ve learned a lot!
Giorgio Zeppieri, fifth year exchange student from Italy
From: Rome, Italy
UW Law: What were you doing at this time last year?
Zeppieri: I started the selection procedure for my international exchange here in the U.S. from Italy. My law school in Rome had three destinations as possibilities, and I found Seattle the most attractive option.
UW Law: What are you most looking forward to?
Zeppieri: I look forward to practicing English and learning in a different environment.
UW Law: What class are you most excited about taking?
Zeppieri: I am taking three classes over the next four months of my stay, and I look forward to all of them: Comparative Constitutional Law, International Law and International Human Rights Law.
UW Law: What do you hope happens by the end of fall quarter?
Zeppieri: I hope my English improves and that I’ve discovered new places and met many people.