Sowande, 2L

My commute to school from Brighton is about an hour each way... give or take about fifteen minutes depending on the time of day. I usually read on the train if I can get a seat, and I don't mind the ride. It forces me to get outside for a little bit, and the people watching is great.

I usually try to ride with a buddy of mine who lives a little up the street. She helps the commute go a lot faster, and if we get up and out early enough in the morning (usually by seven), we'll check out the dining hall for breakfast. And by the way, it's nice to be re-acquainted with breakfast these days. There's nothing better than a full spread in the morning to help me think about things other than my stomach making funny noises in class.

Anyway, my pal and I checked out a law bookstore after classes were done today, and I picked up some fun flashcards. I've learned exactly how contextual of a learner I am (ya learn a lot about yourself in law school... you'll see), and sometimes doctrine (the As and Bs that "may" lead us to C), although straight-forward, can be difficult to apply.

The interesting thing about these little "tarjetas del estudio", is that for me they are a helpful intermediary between strict doctrine and practice exams. I've been lucky to have professors who do a lot of hypothetical practice during class, but I was looking for even more simple ones to do, to really etch the concepts into my gray matter. They seem to have helped me clarify some of the specific concepts I don't understand, and are quite portable for someone who has to carry some heavy books and who doesn't have a lot of room in his backpack for even more books.

I can't recommend them for everyone, because through talking to different people and going to various academic skills sessions, I've noticed how different the ways are that people learn. I've also heard and noticed that sometimes, they aren't quite on-point in terms of the concepts we discuss in class, and I've had to set some of them aside. But for the most part, they look like they'll help me to keep the concepts fresh, and "pepper in" little bit of magic during the commute.

And now, back to reading.

Posted by Sowande at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has been a difficult one, especially with the passing of a highly notable fellow student at school. Gregory Huff is an amazing man, and was the first student I reached out to when I found out that I had been accepted to Northeastern. I reached out and he grabbed my hand and stuck with me, giving me advice at every turn. Once, after coming out of a very intense class meeting, he (sitting in one of two of his usual spots in Dockser Commons) took one look at my face and said, "Aw man, what are you pouting about now?! Get back to work, you're almost there!"

I'll miss him, but I'll never forget his motivation, genuine support, and patience for a 1L with a whole lot of questions. He was with me the day I started at Northeastern University School of Law, and he will be with me when I graduate, reminding me not to pout, and to keep it moving.

Posted by Sowande at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a fast and furious two weeks.

Last week, I finally went to the Massachusetts State House for the LSSC Project client meeting I'd been coordinating and preparing for some time. Two other students (Law Office Representatives, who also put in a huge amount of time), myself, our Advising Attorney, Professor Hall, and our Faculty Supervisor, Professor Maze-Rothstein met at State Senator Spilka's office.

We met with the Senator (via teleconference which was really great because she was out in the field, but took the time out to talk with us for close to an hour and a half), her Lead Counsel, her Aid and her new Policy Analyst. I just have to say that it went SO well. We got some excellent feedback, but more importantly, we were able to show off a tiny bit of what we learned. I was really nervous at first, but quickly became comfortable participating in the discussion because I realized how much I've grown, and felt that I was actually being closely listened to.

One thing I'd heard about law school was that students don't typically get a lot of feedback, so it seems hard to figure out where we stand sometimes. I've noticed that in my experience here, if I seek it out, I am able to get feedback all over the place, which I think is great because there are chances to be evaluated on many different fronts--not just on those two or three, terrifying Socratic moments and a final examination.

Last weekend, I traveled to Springfield to meet up with my mom, who flew into town for her uncle's memorial service. He was 96, and was the oldest of nine brothers and sisters, one of whom was my grandmother. He was a very prominent figure in our family, and I even found out that he had secured his very own U.S. Patent for a stroller safety device--I had no idea!

We stayed with my mother's cousin on Friday night, and made the drive down to Mt. Laurel, New Jersey on Saturday morning. As soon as we arrived into the small town, my mind started to buzz and I was thinking--wait a minute, Mt. Laurel, Mt. Laurel what IS it about Mt. Laurel and it suddenly dawned on me that we'd spent quite some time discussing a very famous zoning case involving Mt. Laurel in my Property class. I spent almost an hour talking about the case with another of mother's cousins, who spent a lot of time in Mt. Laurel and gave me some very interesting background. It's all about context, and coincidence!

That night, I stayed in New Brunswick with a cousin I grew up with, and he and I made the trek to NYC. I hadn't been to the city for eight years, and was in shock to see how much it seems to have changed.

Posted by Sowande at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Now that our "extended" spring break is over (Monday was actually a snow day), I have returned to the rigor.... The second and third-year students have also returned from their Winter co-ops, and the commons are quite full.

Over the break, I scheduled an appointment to begin discussing strategy for my first co-op applications this fall. Today, I met with Jeff Smith, Director of External Relations for the Co-op program. Our discussion was productive and I look forward to working with the co-op office on my next steps.

We had our weekly LSSC law office meeting, and really got into some very intense discussion among ourselves and with our Faculty Adviser, Professor Maze-Rothstein, regarding the direction of our project. Our second draft was evaluated by both her and our Advising Attorney, Professor David Hall, with great detail, and we were able to voice probably all of the core concerns that we had regarding the comments, and the project in general.

These projects are by no means simple. They require a great level of determination because they seem to be chosen in such a way that they will test our abilities to work with complex, even controversial issues, to create significant, well-supported final products. It was powerful to have been reminded that these projects are opportunities to speak directly to those who have the power to implement very dramatic changes--to shift paradigms, if you will.

I came away from the meeting really thinking about how many opportunities I will have to work with another Senator on really shifting paradigm. This is pretty powerful stuff.

Posted by Sowande at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)