WSU 3L Student C
My experience at Western State has been extremely fulfilling academically and socially, because law school isn’t supposed to be just theoretical, it’s supposed to be practical and Western State, it’s a great mix. We get the academic side from our professors and the practical side is provided by our amazing Student Body Association, so when a student comes to Western State, they get the full body experience of what it is to be an attorney.
What sets Western State apart academically is the fact that we focus on the practicality of the law. Although there are theories behind each law subject, we really focus on arming students with practical know how so that when they go intern or extern or even graduate and find a job, there’re not totally lost because Western State really focuses on knowing not only the theory behind civil procedure, but even the mundane such as why we file a certain document. So academically we’re advantaged in that way. And right now we do have the business law association and the criminal law certificate programs which are also big venues in the law today and so Western State focuses its resources in uplifting those programs. Also, again we’re a tight knit community so the fact that we’re a small community, fosters upper classmen and lower classmen helping each other out and learning from one another, and as law students, we’re peers and although we’re in law school, that translates into the legal field and one day I’m going to have to face my peer in court and vice versa.
First year law students, their last semester they take professional skills two, and their final encompasses an appellate brief, and an oral competition where they argue on behalf of their client off of their appellate brief, and we use that, their final score, to determine if they will be admitted into our honors moot court program. So currently I’m on the executive board of the moot court and so we look at the score, the oral score, and writing score of the incoming 2 L to see if they will be admitted into moot court. Also our moot court program sends students all across the nation to compete in various areas of the law. So, if you’re a student who is thinking of criminal law, we can send you to a criminal law competition in a different state and other law schools compete. So it really hones your skills as an oralist, and also it’s great to show your future employers that you have the practical knowledge to transition into the working force.
Some students like myself don’t take breaks between undergrad and law school. My experience was that I’ve lived in Orange County pretty much my entire life, but at the same time, I don’t have that life experience that some older students have. Western State has changed me in the sense that law school in and of itself, matures you. Western State pushes you, shows you where your boundaries are and challenges you to go beyond them. So, my experience has been particularly positive, both socially and just all around. Prior to law school, prior to Western State my purview on life was very narrow. Being a student who’s academically challenged, and also willing to expand my horizons by being involved with faculty members and various committees and student bar association, that exercises you mind and also just your personality. So I feel that Western State provides you with the tools to just become a better person all around, because you’re not only exercising your mind in the classroom, you’re learning how to cooperate and work with others.
I would tell you that WSU has all of the instruments you need to succeed. We have an open administration, we have an open door policy for our professors, and we have a student body association that goes above and beyond, and learns about each student and what each student wants. We’re always trying to better ourselves. There’s not a riff between upper classmen and lower classmen. At Western Stare we’re fortunate to have a small community, and so when an incoming student needs help or isn’t sure of a class, or wants to get involved, the upper classmen are always around to guide that 1 L. It benefits the school in general; we’ve worked so hard this last year. We had an amazing student bar association and it helps to ingrain into incoming students and lower classmen the importance of a legacy and a tradition. So I believe that the upper classmen now the 3Ls really want to leave Western State with lower classmen who also have that passion and that fire to maintain Western States’ prestige.