Noah Niksefat is a first-year student at Loyola Law School who aims to apply his business background toward a purposeful legal career.
As a 1L who works outside of school, I made a deliberate effort to build relationships with my professors.
I regularly attended Professor Grossi’s office hours, partly because her passion for the law is contagious. She does not just teach doctrine; she brings it to life in a way that deepened my understanding of the material and reminded me why I came to law school.
Outside the classroom, my friend Michael and I worked with Professor Grossi to organize section gatherings after class. These gatherings gave students a chance to connect with her in a more conversational setting. I found The Liberties, an LLS alum-owned bar fittingly named for law students, and we hosted our gatherings there.
In class, my interactions with other professors have been more structured, but still impactful. Professor Selmi once remarked that the best attorneys are those who can put themselves in the shoes of the people they are dealing with. That observation resonated with me. He was not simply referring to empathy in the abstract, but to developing an awareness of the facts and circumstances shaping a person’s situation. When I mentioned that I was navigating a legal matter outside of school, he offered to reach out to someone on my behalf. That willingness to step in demonstrated that his investment in students extends beyond the classroom.
Overall, I find the faculty accessible and invested. Some are expressive and relational; others are direct and highly structured. Both approaches reflect a seriousness about teaching and a respect for students’ growth. What I appreciate most is that Loyola’s professors are not simply preparing us to pass the bar or perform well on their exams. They are preparing us to practice. They train us to think like advocates, to exercise sound judgment, and to use our knowledge of the law in the service of something larger than ourselves.
TOPICS: 1L, Faculty