Dear potential students,

If at this time of year any of the law students you’re friends with disappear into a tornado of copy-making, text books and outlines, flash-card making, hypothetical writing, and large quantities of caffeine, do not be alarmed. Men instantly seem to develop excessive facial hair, the sweat pants are broken out, and earplugs suddenly are on short supply at the local store. Are we planning for an academic apocalypse? Not quite – the time has come for finals!

Personally, when faced with all of the havoc associated with this cheery time of year (sense the sarcasm) the most inspiring thing to me is you- the potential student and current applicants. Every time I give a tour or make contact with a potential student, I’m reminded of all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the admissions process for law school. How many dollars did we all spend in application fees, LSAT certification and testing?  How many hours did we spend speaking to current students, visiting different law school campuses, and seeking the best program for our needs? I know that when I was doing practice LSAT’s and didn’t get the score I was wanting, I was instantly discouraged and worried about my prospects as a law student.

While you may or may not be at this point in your search for a law school, this encouraging message comes from the other side. We experience the same fears and insecurities once we’re in law school. We worry about making grades, getting scholarship money, passing the ever-looming ahead Bar examination, and finding a job after graduation. While these concerns never sound appealing, it’s all part of the journey. It’s practically a rite of passage. There has been and always will be a continuum of students seeking admittance to law school, trying to survive law school, trying to pass the bar, and then trying to have the most professional and respectable career possible. Again, this may seem discouraging, but I happen to take perhaps a minority position on this point. Thousands have people have done this before us, and thousands of people have survived. Thousands of people have gone onto their successful careers as attorneys with all the pride and responsibilities of our profession. Every single one of them was once in our shoes- no matter how stressful that may be at the time.  

My hope for you, potential student, is that you embrace the chaotic and sometimes stressful events going on in your lives. I will try to do the same. Just know that you are on a path that has been traveled before, and there is plenty of guidance along the journey. I thank you for being my inspiration to embrace the chaos found within finals week, and hopefully sometime in the future you will be in my shoes and will ride the waves of these challenges smoothly. 

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind, but it has been great visiting with all you potential students out there at various events! Most particularly we had a great time at the K-State tailgate before the KSU/OU football game. While the game turned out sadly for my K-State Wildcats, we ambassadors were so excited to meet with those interested in attending law school and their families. We also had an event just this past Friday for high school students who were interested in attending law school after they graduate from their undergraduate institutions.

 I’m always so encouraged to see these students who are anxious to get on the pre-law or the law school track. Sometimes we tend to get a little pessimistic and worn out while in law school because of all the work we’re doing throughout the year. However, being with these potential students is really energizing and shows me that people want to be in law school. Current law students should feel grateful that we made it here in the first place.

 Here’s a highlight of the biggest points I try to pass on to these potential students. I took some of this from an email I sent to a particular potential student earlier this weekend.

 What skills are you preparing yourself with? No matter what you study, the grades for law school applicants do matter. The way you can prepare yourself for your interests in law school is to build your skills so you can market yourself better. Everyone in law school will have an undergraduate degree in something, so the main question is how did you equip yourself to be a skilled worker? Get involved! Take some leadership experiences! Volunteer in the field of law you’re interested in working in! If you don’t know what kind of a lawyer you want to be yet, then get involved in a variety of ways and start to feel out what you like best!

 These are some ways that will help you be a better consumer when it comes to finding a law school that’s right for you. It’s so much easier to get excited about a school’s particular programs if you’re able to say: “Here are my experiences, here’s what I’m interested in. How can I fit in at this law school when I want to go into this type of law?” You’ll find your admissions process much more informative because they can tailor your wants and needs to what you’re interested in and get you on your way.

 As finals start to come up, let’s all try and focus and keep our noses in those books so we can all make those grades! Have a great week. 

Blog readers: Today, Oct. 27th, a Washburn Law rep will be at the University of Florida's Graduate & Professional School Day.  This event will be held in the J. Wayne Reitz Student Union Grand Ballroom, from 10:00am-2:00pm. 

If you're considering law school, need information on Washburn Law's programs/opportunities, or have questions about all things Washburn Law, this is your chance to get what you need.  So come on out & stop by the table later today.

See you all there,

~Maryam

As promised, I will be in Tallahassee one more day, so be sure to come stop by the Washburn Law table.

Today, Oct. 26th, I will be at the Florida A & M University's 2011 Law Day from 10:00am-2:00pm in the HM Efferson Student Union Grand Ballroom. 

Hope to see you there!

~Maryam

Hello, blog readers!  Those of you in the Tallahassee, FL area will have not one but TWO opporunities to visit with a Washburn Law admissions representative this week! 

TOMORROW, October 25th from 10:00am-2:00pm, I will be attending the 2011 Florida State University Graduate and Professional School Expo in the Oglesby Union Courtyard.  Although tomorrow's forecast looks like it will be another gorgeous day in Tallahassee, if it rains, the event will be moved to the Oglesby Union Ballrooms.  So rain or shine, you can get your questions answered and find out more about why Washburn Law is the place you want to be!

See you tomorrow,

~Maryam

***P.S. For those of you who are unable to make it out to FSU's event tomorrow, I will be in Tallahassee on 10/26 as well; so stay tuned to find out more! ***

Hello, dear blog readers!!  TOMORROW, October 20th, I will be attending the University of Houston's Annual Pre-Law Day at the University Center (Houston Room), from 11:00am-5:00pm.  This event's sure to have something for everyone interested in law school! 

I hope those of you in the Houston area will come out and stop by the Washburn Law table.  I'll be happy to meet you, answer your questions, and give you some materials on the wonderful programs and opportunities available to you at Washburn Law!

See you all there!

~Maryam

I can’t emphasize the importance of having friends in law school enough. While it is always going to be a competitive atmosphere where you hope your grades make you stand out enough from your peers, you definitely can’t do it alone. Something as simple as having someone take notes for you when you’re not in class is so crucial, and if you’re not getting to know your future colleagues then it creates a great disadvantage.

 My closest circle of girlfriends and I have collectively gone through the following personal challenges in the past six months or so: two sets of parents getting divorced, loss of scholarship money, interviewing for jobs, not getting dream jobs, a spouse getting diagnosed with a serious illness, death of two grandparents, a parent getting laid off, and a parent nearly dying from a serious infection. While this is not the case for all students, almost everyone will go through a time where their ability to adapt and survive law school becomes a very difficult experience personally. Without my closest circle, with whom I study, socialize with, vent to, etc., I’m not sure what I would have done. The point to all of this is just a greater piece of advice- the people surrounding you in law school are the ones that will be working with you, recommending you for jobs to their employers, be opposing counsel in a future lawsuit, and even more throughout your professional career. How great is it if those people are not viewed as your perpetual adversaries, but instead as trusted friends? 

Hello, Blog Readers!  I hope you're ready for my next adventure because it starts TOMORROW, October 12th at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, MO.  I will be attending the UCM Fall Career Expo in the Multipurpose Building Arena from 1:00pm-4:00pm. 

I'm so excited to meet the students in this area, so I hope you will come out & stop by the Washburn Law table!  As always, bring those questions, or just stop by and chat with me about the law school experience at Washburn.

Hoping to see you there,

Maryam 

The past few weeks I have had the opportunity to travel to several nearby locations to recruit future students and represent Washburn at a regional conference. Going back to my favorite place on earth, Manhattan, Kansas for the law school fair was a great experience. I loved representing  the school and trying to get more students interested in coming for an in-person visit. I also loved the opportunity to meet other K-Staters and  to talk about my law school! We went back there later the next week also to have a more intimate dinner discussion about what our school has to offer and questions that the students had specifically for us as involved students and what to expect going into law school.

 The week after that I was able to attend the regional ABA conference with representatives from law schools across the Midwest in St. Louis. We quickly became friends with the other law students from Notre Dame, Southern Texas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, UMKC and St. Louis University Law Schools to name a few. It was great to compare and contrast what each school offered their students. One of Washburn’s claims for the conference was that we are the only school of the attendees that provides free and unlimited printing! (That’s a big plus when you’re printing hundreds of pages of notes and papers.) We also had the opportunity to meet with a Federal Court of Appeals Judge, the senior partner of one of the largest law firms in St. Louis, and other non-profit and governmental lawyers from across the region. The opportunities for networking were incredible! It’s these kinds of experiences I was looking for in coming to law school, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to take advantage of them particularly in my 2L year. 

ATTENTION BLOG READERS: TOMORROW, October 6th the Chicago Graduate & Professional School Fair will be held from 3:00pm-7:00pm at the University of Illinois-Chicago Forum.  This event is open to the public & admission is FREE!  (Who doesn't love free?) 

This event is a great chance to get all those burning questions answered, pick up some materials on our programs and opportunities, and to meet a Washburn Law Rep/Alum.  So come on out & stop by the Washburn Law table, and find out why Washburn is right for YOU!

Hope to see you all there,

Maryam

***A special thank you to all of you that attended the Northern Illinois Univ. Professional & Graduate School Fair yesterday, and the Chicago State Univ. Diversity Law Forum today; it was a pleasure meeting all of you!!***