Two Questions for Graduating UW Law Students
As spring quarter wraps up and UW Law’s graduating students near the end of their legal coursework, we asked students about their most memorable experiences at UW Law as well as the goals they hope to achieve after Commencement and beyond.
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UW Law: What's your most memorable UW Law experience?
Rafael Williams, M.J.: I think it'll be my employment discrimination class with Professor Schnapper where we learned the entrenches of how employment discrimination plays into the workplace and all the nuances in ensuring that people have an equitable experience, no matter what your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation. I think that was my most memorable experience here at UW.
Ben Desch, M.J.: Definitely the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. Getting the chance to work with clients; and actually apply some of the skills and lessons we've learned in lectures in class; to actually help new entrepreneurs, who are just starting out developing a business; being able to actually be a value-add and help them grow and see how they take that information, that has been easily the most rewarding part of this experience.
Raafi Styonurani, LL.M. (Global Business Law): Yeah, the most memorable experience was when I have lunch with my folks after class and then we have to study together after that in the library,
Candace Dungan, M.J.: Having classes with foreign-trained lawyers and realizing that you're sitting next to a judge, or you're sitting next to somebody that has been in the UN for 10 years, or someone that is currently working with human rights in Ukraine, that has definitely been the most memorable — just the people and hearing the stories and also being around such like-minded people.
Hannah Garland, J.D.: My most memorable experience is definitely just meeting all the people. We started on Zoom. I felt like I didn't know anybody. I didn't feel like I had community. And now I feel like this is my family. It's so nice to feel like I have found people while doing this wild ride.
Ijun Kim, M.J.: My most memorable experience was actually a class. So, my friends and I were sitting together, and we were still very early on in the year. But it was when we were really starting to understand the legal jargon, the context. So, that was the moment I realized we were going to be OK.
Madison Kelly, J.D.: Other than spending my entire 1L year online during a global pandemic, my most memorable moment at UW Law was being a member of the Tribal Court Clinic. This is where I helped the Muckleshoot Nation assist their dependency proceedings and reunite families.
UW Law: What do you dream of accomplishing with your law degree?
Anna Le, J.D.: Before law school, I worked at a tech company doing business operations and tech development. And it really got me interested in “how do you regulate the tech sector?” and especially with the rise of artificial intelligence. So, immediately after law school, I'm going into a firm to learn more about that. And eventually, I would love to do more business development and tech development work.
Chianara Ike, Ph.D.: Yeah, so with my Ph.D., I really want to just be a law professor and have a think tank for policy research, and consulting for international organizations.
Chris Marelich, J.D.: I'm not entirely sure, but I'm really interested in working in the environmental and energy space. So, I'd like to use my law degree in that capacity.
Shefali Kothari, LL.M. (Global Business Law): One of my primary long-term goals is to bring positive impact in my community. I would like to help underrepresented individuals and would like to advocate for injustice and inequality. In addition to this, I also have a strong interest in corporate law, and would like to pursue my career in this field. I aspire to work for a top law firm or multinational companies in various fields.
Nathan Rosenblatt, J.D.: So, I want to be able to travel around the world while making an impact. I want to be able to live abroad, maybe do some international commercial arbitration — something that I learned here at the school that I had no idea I'd be interested in until I did Moot Court for that — and be able to just live the dream of being that jet setting lawyer and then eventually maybe buy a house somewhere in the states and settle down.