My advice is to figuratively and literally jump at every opportunity presented to you during law school. As a student, Widener Commonwealth Law offers a plethora of options that can fill your time in and out of school. Before even your first class as a law student, Widener provides pre-orientation events where you can meet your fellow classmates. Widener offers a ton of student organizations and career opportunities through the Career Development Office.  Widener also promotes recreational events, like the Dean’s Picnic and Dauphin County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Volleyball League, which is all designed to boost the student’s morale and offer networking opportunities. The best part about having all these options is that it is up to you to decide how you want your law school journey to go. Besides your first-year classes being selected for you, your path through law school is completely up to your own navigation.  

During your first year, you may feel as if you are bogged down with no real possibilities of growth or adventure, as you become so consumed with checking off your never-ending to-do lists: classes, readings, writing assignments, office hours, club meetings, etc. Even with all that you have you to accomplish as a law student, I urge you to embrace every challenge because some of your best memories can come from the most unexpected experiences. I can whole-heartedly say my law school experience has been impacted by some of the most random moments, yet I am so grateful for each one as they have changed my trajectory and outlook on this journey. Going into my first year, I was determined to connect with individuals who were motivated to succeed in school by having a positive mindset.  And I stumbled upon those amazing types of friends from the most random event, which was a required group project about false imprisonment in our torts class.  Not exactly where I envisioned gaining some of my closest friends, but it was a challenge we conquered together by being open-minded to the highs and lows of that project and then eventually law school in general.  

Another instance where I jumped right into an opportunity that altered my law school journey would be when I saw a posting about a career information session in a sector of law that I never thought I would be interested in, but the information session had a free lunch so I thought, “what would be the harm in attending a thirty minute presentation?” Well, that information session completely opened my eyes to a fascinating part of the legal field where this upcoming summer I will be interning in and hopefully finding a future in. I have shared just a few instances where my law school journey was impacted by originally unremarkable movements or small challenges that did change my course of navigation through this journey. So, if you take anything away from my jumble of words it is that Widener has the opportunities, and it is up to you to either jump in or out during this unforgettable journey that is law school.