Year of Law School: 3L
Age: 26
Hometown: North Vancouver
What did you do before law school? After completing my history degree at the University of Alberta I took a year off to work for the Vancouver Olympics and travel.
What area of law are you interested in? I am definitely interested in environmental and natural resource law, but have found other areas extremely interesting as well. I haven’t figured out what I want to do yet, so the broader exposure I get the better!
A fun fact about yourself… I recently did the Tough Mudder and find the Grouse Grind “fun” 🙂
What was your favourite part of Orientation Week? Meeting the people that are now some of my best friends!
What was the best advice an upper year gave you when you started school? Maintain balance! Keep doing all the things that made you an awesome law school candidate – they will be much needed de-stressors when things get busy.
What was the worst advice an upper year gave you when you started school? That I needed to find study groups as soon as possible. I like to study alone until right before an exam and then meet up to go over practice exams. In the end that worked for me. Don’t worry about doing what other people are doing, study like you did in undergrad but with a bit more intensity.
What was your favourite part of first year? Being challenged and getting out of my comfort zone. I loved meeting so many diverse and amazing people and going through the ups and downs of all that is law school together!
What was the most challenging part of first year? Finding balance – getting the advice is one thing and living it is another! It took me until about November to realize that I would burn out if it was all law all the time. It is refreshing and necessary to spend time with people who don’t know what a CAN is.
What was your favourite social event in first year? Boat cruise – it was the first big social event of the year, and I’ve always been partial to being stuck on a boat with good people and good drinks.
What would you do differently in 1L if you could go back now? I would have signed up for LSLAP. I was worried about overcommitting to extracurriculars (which you do need to be aware of) but I think the on-the-ground clinical experience would have been interesting.
What extracurriculars would you recommend to 1Ls? I really enjoyed Legal Education Outreach (“LEO”) where you go into high schools and give presentations about law. I also loved being a member of the Careers Committee because you get to work with the Career Services Office who are total gems. The Hoop-Law Charity basketball tournament is a well-recognized, low commitment way to get involved. Lastly, join whatever groups interest you – they are a great way to find like-minded people! For me that was the Environmental Law Group – we went for hikes, watched documentaries, etc.
What was your favourite class? Favourite professor? Torts – Joost Blom is the perfect mix of knowledgeable, engaging and jovial.
Any words of wisdom for the incoming 1Ls? You are coming to UBC because you are all awesome, skilled candidates who have what it takes to excel. Keeping doing what makes you great and remember that your life is not law school, law school is just a very cool part of the next chapter of your life!