Sowande, 2L

A couple of things have happened recently:

First, it's gotten a little chilly! Thank goodness for inexpensive shopping at Downtown Crossing (a 10 minute ride by T). H&M was subjected to the power of my mighty wallet, and $20.00 of my fury. I picked up an hilarious hat, gloves (two pair!) and a scarf.

Second, but most notably, my uncle passed away last week. A great man and a scholar in Economics, nationally and in the San Francisco Bay Area, David Landes was the benefactor of my "Chump Change Scholarship", where I was endowed each month with $25.00 to do with whatever I please.

This occurrence has brought up what I think is a very important issue.

It's essential to remember that although law school is a life-changing experience, life continues to move forward. In deciding what school I would attend, I was careful to look into what sort of support system was available.

Knowing and looking into anything from having family members close by to what sort of counseling health services the university has to offer is crucial because you really never know. So if something unexpected happens, you want to be able to get back on your feet and to be able to have a healthy space to heal if necessary. Awesome housemates (which I happen to have), new friends, and local family are all very helpful, but just in case it's always good to know what the school has to offer.

During orientation, we were given presentations by key contacts from University Health Services, Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, a local agency that also has resources for law school students, and the University Police Department.

Law school is work like nothing else. It feels like from wake to sleep, and even sometimes in dreams, my mind has been working nonstop.

Even though each class is academically demanding beyond almost anything I've ever experienced, there are student organizations and events that one really should consider joining and attending because one never knows who will be there, who one may find interesting, and what early-90's jams one might be reunited with.

The importance of the connections made with members of student organizations and classmates, outside of the classroom, is magnified in law school many times over because there is a "through the fire" bond that takes hold. "We're in this together" comes to mind.

Being a member of NUSL's very active Black Law Student's Association has connected me with other students who understand the nuances of life that I am used to, and how those nuances fit into law school. Being a member of Queer Caucus has set me up with a network of students with whom I can talk about anything, and who understand contemporary marginalization and how that applies to the law school experience.

About 4 weeks ago, I attended the Northeast Black Law Student's Association welcome event, hosted by Suffolk University--greens, mac n cheese, biscuits, YES! Around the same time, I found myself in a fantastic downtown law firm along with fellow NUSL and other local law school students being welcomed [back] to law school by the Massachusetts Lesbian Gay Bar Association. Just this last week, many of the multi-cultural student organizations have had potlucks with ample amounts of amazing food.

Please take a look at the variety of student organizations at NUSL. Even take a moment to make contact if you wish because these are the outlets that will let you cut loose, get your hands dirty in learning the law, cut a rug to some Michell'e, and get you fed.

I've heard that a lot of students, when they begin law school, have had little prior experience managing their own financial aid. As an older student, I always pay very close attention to learning the ins and outs of financial aid administration because there is nothing worse than being out of money when you have to keep your grades in line, and have nowhere to go for supplemental income.

Northeastern's financial aid has been tricky for the first year, because while the rest of the school is on quarters, we 1Ls are on a semester system. Dates don't always line up. In fact, when school first started it wasn't until about a week after classes had begun that refunds were available.

These are very important things to know because how you budget for the week or so before school, into a week or so after school starts will really set the pace for the entire year.

Here's what I started doing during holiday breaks to make sure my money ducks were in a row:

-Get familiar with the school's total cost of education (which includes tuition, rent, books, food, etc.); the more familiar I was with this information, the better the frame of reference I had in terms of how expensive the school was. Remember, tuition is only a tiny portion of the total cost. Sure there's rent as well, but what about headache medicine, pots and pans, warm winter clothing... Turns out, Boston isn't as expensive as a lot of places I've lived but I found this out by accounting for everything down to my budget for hair grease.

-If you've been working, locate and organize ALL of your paycheck stubs and tax returns. You can even request them from the IRS. Next year's financial aid will be based on this year's earnings, as you may recall. A paycheck stub can tell you some great information, including how much you can expect for next year's return (which paid for my airfare to come to Boston).

-Start budgeting in Excel or some other spreadsheet. Play around with some numbers and get a preliminary monthly budget amount for yourself, both for now and then for when you're in school. The more familiar you are with these numbers, the easier it is to shift amounts around and to get a grasp on what you will have available when school starts.

-Review Your Credit Report ASAP. Can't stress this enough. I cleaned up my entire credit report before coming to school because you never know what little things can trip you up. Also, in order to pass the bar in many states, your credit report and history will probably be taken into consideration. Pay off any delinquencies. I paid off about 4,000.00 in undergrad "mistakes" before starting school, which took me almost a year. Now, it's just one less thing to worry about, especially when I'm going bar crazy in two and a half or so years.

-See if you can memorize everything on this page: NEU Financial Aid.

The law school's financial aid office is well accessible, but the more you know about financial aid in general, the better tailored your questions will be so that you can get in and get out.

Um... so I moved today, and now live in Brighton/Brookline. Yeah, one week (and some change) before examinations begin and while everyone else was busy outlining and catching up, I got to haul my prize books, Japanese films, and fashion. "Big ups" to my pal, Scott, who helped me out through what could have been a potentially dreadful housing situation--or "well bad", as one of my "Kiwi-phile" law office cohorts often says. Don't get me wrong--things never got to be that bad where I was living, but I was certain to act before falling into a housing situation that could easily jeopardize all of the hard work I put into getting myself into an excellent law school.

At this point in time, no risk is so small that it should not be considered very carefully in light of the significant time, money and soul investment being put into this educational undertaking.

So anyway, now I am living in an all-inclusive deal here in lovely Brighton. I've got a massive room, an attached office and a closet of my own all for an exceptional price... something about "closing doors and opening windows" comes to mind.

Oh, and back to the "opening of doors and closing of windows," check this out: I don't believe I mentioned this in a previous blog, but I lost my wallet a few weeks ago. I walked the streets where I thought it could have fallen out for an hour, but remembered that the streets of Boston are not the dusty roads of Kingman, Arizona, and to some folks a wallet means a meal, bargaining power (I've heard of people requesting finder's fees for the return of things they've found that they can attach to you), or a new kick toy.

To me, my wallet meant so much more because it contained pictures of my family, business cards of police officer friends and connections I'd met at local law student welcome events, my CharlieCard (which I'd just re-upped worth $59.00--ouch?), and even more importantly it was my partner's old badge wallet from when he worked in California--minus the badge of course.

Well, yesterday I received an email from one of the Registrar's Office ladies, with whom I am very close because she hands out the refund checks, noting that the Boston Police Department had mailed my wallet to the school and it was available to pick up... !!!

Who says a lil' faith and a colgate smile can't get you what you want in the big city?

Here's the new view... at night... it's not of Downtown Boston but there are cool lights in the background and when the snow falls, it should be a pretty cool site to see--DURING THE DAY!



And before I forget, I went to Maine with Scott (see above) to hang with his family for Thanksgiving. I didn't get to see the Portland Head Light, but I sure DID GET TO SEE THE B&M FACTORY, yeee haw! A drive-by baked beaning!! (Portland, ME is about two hours and a beautiful ride north of here).

I'm taking a break from non-stop studying for Friday's Property exam (and preparing for others next week) to drop a quick note while it's on my mind.

I, along with a small set of fellow mentees, met with my faculty mentor of color today, Professor Susan Maze-Rothstein, to talk about pre-exam jitters, study strategies, and other things that were weighing heavily on our minds. We spent a significant amount of time going over everything from how we've attacked the really complex issues we will be tested on, to the social dynamics of exam preparations. It was time apart, needed by all of us, to really connect with a faculty member and one another in the midst of what is a very time-intensive and tiring process.

Faculty mentors are available to all students. We were told this on the very first day, and were encouraged to seek one (or more) out; e.g., one for career path, one for networking, or just someone to share general interests with. They are important connections to make and if you get the right one, they can be a powerful ally with whom you can discuss everything you want to share. Academics, future path, to what to do if you suddenly have to move into a new place...

Speaking of new places, we had our first snow yesterday and I took a few pictures from my office window (I don't know if that's a chicken coop, a vineyard or a torture device down there, sorry), and our balcony, yes, balcony. On another note, today, it was in the teens and didn't get over 20 degrees. Ever so cold... but the cold is manageable. After 15 or so minutes in it, you stop feeling things... And it's supposed to get quite a bit colder 'round here.

I got on a plane last night at 11:01 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nevada, arrived at Boston Logan Airport at 6:37 a.m., and went pretty much straight to classes this morning at 8:30. Talk about a rush.

Second semester is no joke. Our entire 1L class was advised of deadline upon deadline for our LSSC courses, both the Social Justice component as well as the Research and Writing component, and after the morning course overview, we immediately broke out into our law offices (Law Office 12 y'all, keep us on your radar) and got down to the nitty gritty of ferreting out our final project.

Tensions at school were higher than a well-crafted souffle, and today I was reminded that while Northeastern definitely is one of the more collaborative campuses, there are still many "A-type" personalities because, folks, this is still law school and the people who come here to study have high demands and come from varied backgrounds.

Some are better at handling stress than others, but what it boils down to for me is an exercise in being able to work with and around people whose perspectives and experiences are different from my own, while absorbing the wealth of knowledge and accepting the privilege that law school has to offer.

On another note, hopefully by now everyone's submitted applications. Bravo! Now is the time to really start researching the cost of housing, Boston's interesting weather, what your finances look like, scholarships that are available, and what alums from Northeastern have accomplished. For me, the better my grip was on what I was getting into, the better able to handle law school's gnarly curve-balls.

As my folks back in Arizona love to say, "GIT R DONE!"

Friday's high temperature is noted to be 1 degree Fahrenheit... That's pretty exciting.

We're back in the swing of classes, and along with the heavy, heavy, heavy workload required in our Constitutional, Contracts and Criminal Law classes, is our very... "complex" social justice project.

I really haven't had time to do much of anything outside of classwork these last two weeks--oh wait a minute... a school-mate and I had some amazing Colombian food, some of which has immortalized itself in my Contracts book. I guess I was pretty hungry.

I've been singing the praises of our Northeastern University Dining Hall. They have a tight salad bar, and even have beets. My aunt used to try to make me eat beets when I was little and they were so nasty back in the day--now I can't get enough. A little blue cheese (which they have at the dining hall) and I'm set. They also have cool lunch menus and spaces to work. It's also not too loud in there, because I think not a lot of people go there.

As you read above, we are taking Constitutional, Contracts and Criminal Law this semester, along with LSSC, and I am once again amazed by the professors I have been assigned to. They are "dynamic" in their own individual ways, but the required reading is something to behold, and something I sometimes want to be-THROW out of a moving vehicle... but you read, you learn, and you "keep it moving!!" as my road dawg says.

I am starting to see how classes really build on each other though, and that the concepts we covered last semester come up in rapid fire succession in each of these classes. It's exciting to actually be able to understand the words that are coming out of the professors' mouths.

On to Contracts reading. FYI, what happens when class has to be re-scheduled sometimes is that there is a makeup day--one of which happens to be tomorrow, so we have four classes (instead of the usual three on Thursdays) back to back from 8:55 a.m. to about 6:00 p.m., with about an hour break somewhere in there--I hope.

I'll make it through.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. I attended a music and arts conservatory back in junior high and high school in Santa Barbara, my father is a musician (mom--not so much), and I even have the same name as one of the most prominent Nigerian composers to date. I was a radio DJ for a top-rated, large market, "top 40 urban/crossover" station (the vernacular is embedded) back in California, interned at the Grammy's for a while during my undergrad, and then at Universal Records under their Interscope/Geffen/A&M labels.

I bring this up because I was at a 1L welcome reception at a local law firm last week, and I had a very interesting conversation with an associate. The firm mainly handles commercial real estate issues, specifically corporate real estate finance and transfers. I asked her how she ended up in such a practice area, naively assuming she was an Econ or Business Administration undergraduate. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she was a Music major at a prominent local conservatory.

After some reminiscent, ice-breaking chatter about embouchure, she mentioned that the skills she honed as a musician; e.g., ability to pick up and repeat complex time and key signatures, to think quickly and with dexterity, and how to handle nerves, all contributed to her success in law school. Music also, as she mentioned, remains a wonderful outlet for her to escape to when the demands of work seem overwhelming.

I, myself, have been escaping to the new-ish Animal Collective album, which is a welcome "desert island" since I can't seem to be able to find any of my Philip Glass albums... Spring break project...

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.

Wow, I haven't updated for a while! Deadlines, deadlines.

4/1/2009 -- LSSC Presentation

We presented our Massachusetts Diversionary Restorative Justice Youth Tribunal to an audience of more than sixty (60) people! What a relief! We presented to representatives from community organizations currently involved in juvenile justice (e.g., Massachusetts Department of Youth Services), students, family members and friends. It was a great conversation, and a lot of fun to kind of "show off" what we learned over the last eight months.

4/3/2009 -- NUSL Admitted Student Diversity Reception

Oh the shenanigans! Where there is food, there will be law school students. I had a great time meeting some of the admitted students, and catching up with other current students who have been hibernating because of academic commitments. After the event, we took some of the new admits with us to partake in sustenance at a local eatery, and to watch the Celtics game (I know, I know, but a classmate was at the game with good seats so we were trying to catch her on tv). It was really refreshing to hang out with some bright eyed and bushy tailed admits! They were VERY cool people, and really asked some interesting questions.

At this point in time, everyone is gearing up for final exams. It's going to be quite the next two weeks, but the most exciting aspect of preparation this time is that I feel like I have more of a grip on what to expect, and how to write better exams. I would have liked to have had more time with the material, personally, but I feel like I'm at a different level of understanding now. New concepts we are still learning are challenging to grasp at times, but I feel like I have more of a foundation from which to base the questions I ask, to get the answers that will help me try to figure things out.

Now, please enjoy some photos from the admitted student event!

We've had some interesting weather--pants and jacket one day, rain the next, then blazing heat. My wardrobe has had quite the workout.

We are in "reading week", and everyone is preparing for exams. Review sessions galore, outlines galore, and practice exams galore. I'm trying a different approach this time, and already feel quite differently about how I'll do on my exams.

Last Sunday, the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) had its 3L event, and also had a proper send-off for Professor Hall. It was very interesting to hear the words and thoughts of graduating BLSA students. I think that seeing the end-goal put a bit of a spin on how I view the next two years...

[And yes, the food was amazing. I couldn't leave for a while and then come back without anything to say about food, now could I?]

We received our financial aid awards today. Hasn't quite sunken in yet because of exam prep, but I'm sure it will before too long.

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at how much I accomplished during my first year of law school.

Even before the school year started, I was running an uphill battle. I had to figure out how was I going to deal with being so far from everything I knew and loved about my life, friends, partner, and dogs in Arizona, and my closest friends and family in California. I had to arrange my finances in preparation of qualifying for the appropriate financial aid--and then I still had to secure the means to attend law school in a matter of months. I had to gather all of the belongings I thought I would need, and then figure out how to move them across the country. Luckily I had an excellent support system, and a network of friends and family, all of whom were in my corner. They offered everything from words of advice to a nice floor to crash on while I sought the appropriate living arrangements.

I relied heavily on Northeastern University staff, and not just the people in the law school, even before I got into Boston. In retrospect, open communication was really what set the school apart. I'm not here to diss other schools or sell anyone on Northeastern, but I will admit that I kinda based my choice to come to Northeastern on what the voice at the other end of the line sounded like, or how open they were with information. That's MASSIVELY important to someone like me, who was a tiny bit familiar with the rigor of law school, and who moved across the country to jump on in. I'm big on the "moved across the country" thing--maybe I'll make a t-shirt or something.

I'm a second-year law student now. Things feel immensely, immensely--I cannot stress this enough but I will try--immensely different. My classes are smaller, I can actually read cases, the subject matter seems increasingly relevant... what else... I don't know, I mean this is incredible. And who knew I'd love Bankruptcy Law so much?

Last Thursday, I went to the American Civil Liberties Union's First Amendment Dinner. A table was donated to Northeastern University School of Law, and about ten of us attended... let me see, I took some notes here...

The night was in honor of a former Army Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, James J. Yee, who was arrested and placed in a naval brig for 76 days. He put it down, and gave an awe-inspiring speech about being held for such a period of time without knowing what was going to happen to him at almost every turn. I couldn't imagine...

Oh, and we also heard from Katrina vanden Heuvel, an editor for The Nation, who said something I absolutely loved: "There's never a time to compromise America's highest ideals." Quotable quotable if I do say so myself.

So, a few of us from my old "law office" (see LSSC Thoughts) are going to go to Martha's Vineyard for the weekend. Yesssss, I'll be bringing my books... I've never been, and though I had the opportunity to go a couple weeks ago (SO glad I've been forgiven on that one...) I am pretty dang excited. I can't help but worry about getting sand in my phone, or bitten by ticks and getting lyme disease... whoa, speaking things into existence is where I wrap it up with a lovely picture of me, reading for Contracts toward the end of last semester. //end stream of consciousness

I had two Co-op interviews last week. One was over the phone with a bankruptcy court in California and the other was in-person with a local bankruptcy attorney. The only difficult thing about in-person interviewing was having to pick up a suit. I am a pretty casual person, and so having to wear a suit was a bit of a stretch. Despite all of that, I got an excellent navy blue double breasted number. They didn't have any three-piece suits that I liked. One does what one can.

The bankruptcy court was an "apply on my own" meaning that it is not a Co-op employer that has an existing relationship with our Co-op office. I'd written to several bankruptcy judges and this particular court was interested in interviewing me. I think that getting back to California for a few months of Co-op would be nice, particularly because I will be able to visit the friends I grew up with--on the other hand, the local opportunity would be great because the attorney has quite an innovative practice and has some really interesting projects coming up. I am really excited about both.

Now that the first year is over, I have had a chance to meet and hang out with other law school students, beyond my law office. Who knew the "Harry Potter" movies could bring so much joy. A small group of us went to see the "tall ships" at Sail Boston '09. The people watching was... entertaining.

As of the date of exams, the Fall/Spring 2Ls will have been in school for a full calendar year. I just bought my plane ticket for Las Vegas this morning, and I couldn't be happier.

We are getting busier here at the law school, now that the attention has shifted from securing Co-ops for fall to preparation for exams. Summer in Boston is still relaxing, but I will say that there are a LOT of people in the city right now. I don't seem to remember it being so busy last year, but I didn't arrive until August 1, 2008.

* * *

Alright, I was leaning toward not including thoughts on this topic when I thinking about what to write about for this week, but the Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. media blitz has been weighing very, very heavily on my mind this week. I am not going to say anything about it, other than to offer a fantastic link I received from a fabulous classmate. I really like it because it presents varied perspectives, and thoughtful insights.

Read here...

Oh, and CNN aired the second segment of "Black In America" last night, and though I only got to watch about 30 minutes of the presentation, it was FASCINATING! We may have a Black Law Student Association viewing.

A lot of people seem to want to know what the law school campus is like in terms of Mac laptop users. They are everywhere. I recall that more than half of the students raised their hands when asked, "who of you are Mac users?" in an all-class meeting. The entire campus is extremely Mac friendly, and students can take exams on Mac versions of the examination software.

No love for Linux just yet. Bottom line--if you want that Mac for law school, "git er done!"

I was lucky from the git... I knew exactly what laptop features *I* required for law school:

(1) has to be a tablet;
(2) has to be under 1500 (total, including any extra service plans--there went the ThinkPad);
(3) has to be fly;
(4) has to be quiet.

There are tons of other features that I wanted, but most laptops come with them as pretty standard features; e.g., >150gig hard-drive, wifi, other basics, dvd burner, et al. I ended up with the HP TX2500z, a burning hot, LOUD, tablet that was under my 1500 max, and with which I am very happy.

If YOU are considering a tablet PC, I suggest Tablet PC Review.

Yes. It's Friday.

I spent today's lunch at a Families Advocating Compassionate Treatment (FACT task force meeting. FACT is forming a task force to build a treatment facility in Santa Barbara for dually diagnosed individuals (mental health and co-occurring substance-use disorders). Many have severe psychological issues (e.g., bi-polar disorders and schizophrenia), and their challenges are compounded by drug addiction and being caught in the revolving door of the criminal justice system, with very little hope for any sort of rehabilitation.

There were numerous parallels between their activities, and my law office's first-year project. For example, one of the purposes of today's meeting was to bring community stakeholders to the table, including prosecutors, law enforcement, public defenders, families, and the general public, in order to hash out and discuss the various ways of going about reaching their end goals.

I didn't say much because I was on my lunch break, and I was sort of the new/visiting kid on the block--but they are engaged in the same discussions that my law office had when we were developing strategy for our project (a state-wide Restorative Justice Diversionary Program/Youth Tribunal for at-risk youth in Massachusetts). The people present at today's meeting included concerned family members, members of the local legal community, local law enforcement, and a local university professor.

While my law office's project has gone quite far, and continues to have impact on the development of state legislation, I believe that if this organization continues to forge ahead with the involvement of at least the stakeholders who were present today, they should do well.

Bon weekend!