 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
The Faces of 2012
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
By Ann W. Parks
There's a stellar new group of 1Ls at Georgetown Law, with backgrounds and credentials that will serve them well in their new careers. More than two-thirds have taken the time to pursue other interests and advanced degrees before coming to law school - experiences that tell a deeper story than grades or LSAT scores (which, by the way, are among the highest levels ever for an entering class). Recently, we sat down with five members of the Class of 2012 to talk about their past achievements, present expectations and future plans. Philip Breuder was one of those fearless 1Ls who signed up to remove invasive plants (don't call them weeds) for the Anacostia Watershed Society as part of the 1L service projects carried out during Orientation Week. Did he expect to be doing this when he arrived in the nation's capital as a law student? "Not at all, but it was nice, because I love to be outdoors ... and it was exciting that there were a variety of service projects available," he says. Breuder knows something about service. Evacuated from Tulane University during Hurricane Katrina in the fall of 2005, Breuder returned to New Orleans the following semester and got involved in volunteer efforts to help displaced persons. That led to two years in Bolivia with the Peace Corps, doing agricultural projects ranging from beekeeping to silo construction. He was evacuated then, too, when the political situation heated up and the Peace Corps was forced to suspend its post in that country. Undaunted, he returned to Bolivia outside of the program to finish his work there. "I was so happy that I got to go back and deliver my project supplies," Breuder says, adding that he was in the process of purchasing these supplies when he was told to go to the airport, not realizing that he was about to be evacuated from the country. "I told my community, I'll be right back, and then 'Felipe' just disappeared." Breuder would like to practice international law at some point - but for now, he's happy to be at Georgetown Law. Sandra Fluke was part of a group that accompanied Professor Deborah Epstein to observe hearings in the Domestic Violence Unit of the D.C. Superior Court during Orientation Week. She found it a terrific opportunity - since before coming to Georgetown, this Cornell University graduate spent five years working for Sanctuary for Families, a New York-based nonprofit aiding victims of domestic violence. "Last year, we formed a statewide coalition to expand access to family court in New York," says Fluke, explaining that a person who sought a protective order in civil court in that state was previously out of luck if, for example, that person had merely lived with his or her abuser without being married or without having a child in common. "You had no option for a civil protective order so you had to get one through criminal court, which required a higher burden of proof and you had to wait until you'd been the victim of a crime . so we successfully changed the law," Fluke said. "It was a moving experience and definitely one of the reasons I decided to go to law school." Yasemin Kasim divided her time during Orientation Week between Professor Rebecca Tushnet's presentation on Copyright and Trademark in the News and Professor Angela Campbell's tour of the Newseum. That's because Kasim, who earned an MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media from the University of California, Los Angeles, spent several years as an independent documentary filmmaker before coming to Georgetown Law - and is interested in pursuing a career in intellectual property. "Part of being an independent filmmaker and also working for an independent filmmaker, you have to do a lot of your own 'clearing,'" says Kasim, referring to the process of checking that materials appearing in a film (photographs, music, etc.) are being used legally. In her own work, Kasim has made a documentary about her Turkish grandparents as well as a Web series about first-generation American daughters cooking together with their mothers. "I was creating reports as to what images are being used and is this fair use . so there was this moment when I thought, I can do what [the lawyers] are doing. And from there it developed into a deep interest in current intellectual property disputes." Jahlionais Gaston, a Swarthmore College graduate who worked in molecular biology for several years before applying to Georgetown Law is already well aware of the opportunities available in the field through Georgetown's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Still, she's keeping her options open. "I'm going to explore ... it could be [something related to] biology, it could be something completely different," she says. "I find immigration law very interesting and environmental law, that relates to health law in a lot of ways." D. Philip Colombo, who taught college chemistry for 12 years at a Jesuit university in Kansas City, says that when he decided to come to Georgetown Law, his family and friends thought "patent law" right away. But Colombo says he has no preconceived notions about using his Ph.D. as an attorney. "I hope to use my skills as a learner," Colombo says. "The reason I'm most excited about coming to law school is I like to be challenged; I think it's going to be an intellectually stimulating experience."
2009 Entering Class: Fun Facts (Courtesy of the Office of Admissions)
|
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
