Elise Robie: First Semester of Law School

Now that finals are behind me, I have been able to sit and truly reflect on the first semester of law school at Loyola. It was trying and stressful, of course, but most importantly it was exciting. I worked as a paralegal for several years before starting law school, so much of what I learned was at least familiar. However, the professors and my fellow students challenged me in a way that I was not entirely expecting. After the first week of classes, my nerves faded a bit and I was able to come to class every day ready to be faced with a new way of thinking. Looking back on who I was as a person in August to now, I marvel at how much I truly learned and how differently I have begun to think about the world around me.

One of my favorite classes this past semester was Civil Procedure. It was a difficult class, but Professor Cynthia Ho clearly went out of her way to make the subject approachable for us first years. She employed a myriad of different methods in order to help us learn the topic backwards and forwards. She also graciously allowed her students to put together an extra credit project at the end of the semester in which we had to creatively explain a particularly difficult rule or a part of the class students struggled with. My newfound friend Gail and I opted to put together a round of Jeopardy as a way to engage our classmates, while still having a bit of fun.

To our surprise, Professor Ho used the game in class for our review session.  It went over well, and Gail and I learned a ton in the process.  I’m sure that we will not be doing Jeopardy for every class, but I do know that we learned a lot about Civil Procedure in the process.  We have also come to appreciate how hard the professors have to work in order to teach the law as successfully and interestingly as they do. We have been out of class for a couple of weeks now, and I already cannot wait to get back to see all of my friends and to face the next set of challenges that await for the second semester.

Elise, 1L
Student Ambassador
elise,individual7

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