Introduction - Nicole Dela Rosa

Hello there! If you’ve made your way onto this blog, you must be one step closer to making one of the biggest decisions for your education, career, and life. So welcome!

So who am I? Well, my name is Nicole, and I am a 1L day student here at Loyola. I am currently a blogger for the Jury of Peers and my section’s representative for the Immigration Law Society in addition to participating in other organizations.

Before coming here, I worked as a legal assistant for two years at a law firm in the Inland Empire that specialized in Workers’ Compensation, Personal Injury, and Trusts and Estates. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard work, and there was definitely a learning curve as it was my first legal position. But I truly miss working for my boss, who was such an amazing mentor (Shout out to her, if she’s reading this). I also miss the clients that I spent so much time working with and getting to know. Before that, I went to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where I double-majored in English and Global Studies. Go Gauchos! I graduated in 2015, a year early, which helped me figure out what I wanted to do for the next chapter of my life. Thus, all of this has led me to where I am now!

So it’s been about 7 weeks into my first semester here, and so far, it’s been good. I know, shocking right? I think everyone, myself included, has this image of law school as a black hole that sucks you in and takes over your life, and you have no time for anything else but school, reading (A LOT), and stressing out about getting cold-called. While most of that is true, I’ve learned in the last couple of weeks that normal life is still possible (or at least, as normal of a life as possible for a law student) if you try to balance, surround yourself with positive people, and do things that make you happy. For me, that includes yelping restaurants and trying new food, cheering on the Los Angeles Dodgers, overusing my Disneyland annual pass, and spending time with my dog and the people who matter most to me.

So sit back, relax, and join me here as I make my way through my crazy whirlwind of an adventure that is 1L year!