I was fortunate in having exposure with various attorneys prior to attending law school. However, I had not yet encountered anyone who practiced in the field of my interest – family law. Therefore, my underlying goal in law school has been to make connections with individuals interested in or currently practicing family law.

Fortunately, I discovered the Child and Family Law Society and actively check for any emails regarding upcoming events. My trying schedule has allowed me to attend one event they hosted and I was thrilled that I had the opportunity to take part in this informative presentation. The event included two Loyola alumni currently practicing family law. They shared their daily experiences, including their challenges and how they dealt with overcoming them. I found it particularly interesting to hear about the emotional toll that these types of cases can have on a practicing attorney and tips on how they deal with their intense emotions.

My career counselor at Loyola has been incredibly resourceful in navigating me towards a career in family law. She encouraged me to look into classes and clinics offered by Loyola geared towards the field and helped me find a list of classes that would be useful for a career in family law. Based on this, I created a tentative schedule of classes to register for in Fall 2024, combined with my required courses and bar-prep classes.

Overall, my experience at Loyola thus far in relation to my field of interest has been relatively positive. I do admit that I took hold of the reins and actively searched for experiences and information specifically aligned with family law. I certainly feel grateful that many questions I had regarding the field have been answered since I started attending law school.

This semester I am externing for the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps. This experience has reminded me about how vast the legal world is and all the various kinds of work that await us after graduation. Taking an externship is an incredibly valuable experience as a law student. No amount of research in the world will ever compare to the knowledge you gain from experience. Being able to sit in a room full of people who have perfected their craft in a particular practice area, or who have war stories about times in a courtroom is exciting and invigorating. Not only do you get to learn from them but sometimes you get to experience it for yourself. Being an attorney is more than just the reading, and externships give us a taste of what life after law school is like. In my externship I’ve gotten to explore the perimeters of the base I work out of because of potential environmental claims. That is something that never occurred to me happening!

Last semester I was able to extern at the LA District Attorney’s Office as part of the Poehls/Hobbs Practicum. I had some of the most valuable networking experiences in my entire law school career. The people that you meet in your externships can become recommenders for your letters of recommendation, or your future employers for future jobs, and even more importantly people that understand what you are going through as a student and later an attorney. I may not have had access to extern for the LADA’s office had not I participated in the Poehls/Hobbs Practicum. Loyola provides its students with incredible opportunities, we just have to be driven enough to seek them out!