As a 1L, you’ll probably have some questions about building relationships with professors, joining clubs, or even making friends…
In other words, you may want to know the following:
How easy is it to talk to professors on campus? Are the clubs on campus all-inclusive? Do professors have office hours? And if so, are they helpful?
The simple answer: building relationships with friends, faculty, and club members is easily one of the best aspects about law school.
The ease at which I can speak to professors on campus is amazing. From day one, I could tell that the professors genuinely cared about their jobs. Many of my professors are more than willing to meet with students during office hours to explain concepts they don’t understand, review students’ work, or even just chat about their own experiences in the legal field.
Not going to name the professor here, but one even had a Halloween contest to dress as your favorite defendant! She was an amazing professor who genuinely cared about her students and her subject. And if you have her for one of your classes, consider yourself lucky!
I’ll even go one step further and say that building relationships on campus is essential to thriving in law school.
All I would suggest is that you don’t rush these relationships.
If you choose to make connections with professors, do so because you’re genuinely interested in them and their careers.
Not because you want to add another connection to your network web.
As for clubs… you’ll be fine. There’s a club for everyone here. I was quite surprised at the sheer number of affinity groups on campus. And, yes, all of them are super inclusive of people of all backgrounds, identities, and ethnicities. Some will even partner with each other to host events on campus. Which is cool.
As someone who ‘s part of four different clubs: Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Day Student Bar Association (DSBA), Criminal Law Society (CLS), and the Jury of Peers. Believe me, joining clubs is simple, fun, and so worth it, especially because you get to meet like-minded people outside of your section.
I’ll conclude with this. For the faculty and prospective law students reading this: thank you. If you’re here, it probably means that you care about the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of students on campus.
And while Loyola Law School isn’t 100% perfect (no school really is, after all). The fact that resources like this are available make a huge difference in choosing what school to go to. This blog—and the ability to see the experiences of other students—was a huge factor in my decision to come here.
And so far, I don’t regret it.
Jae signing off… peace.