I started plotting my future as an academic long before law school. But when I worked as a lawyer and as a law clerk, I saw firsthand how legal scholarship influenced how lawyers think. Michigan is a place that prides itself on training students to be sophisticated thinkers about the law. From day one, students are encouraged to take themselves seriously as expositors of the law. This facilitates an intellectual climate where students feel comfortable contributing to the rigorous discussions that take place in the classroom. This helped produce a confidence that came in handy when having to make tough decisions for many impactful cases that I handled shortly after leaving here. And it continues to aid me as I attempt to make contributions to legal scholarship.
Michigan has a ton of resources for alumni who want to pursue academia—but the greatest resource is the faculty. Because I conveyed my intentions to become a professor when I was a student, faculty members made the effort to check in with me intermittently after I left Ann Arbor to offer assistance to help me reach my career goals. I would not be where I am now without the mentorship and support that I received from the people at this institution.
The faculty here helped me find my voice. I became a better thinker, speaker, and writer during law school. I am very grateful for the faculty members that saw potential in me as an academic and helped me pursue my goals. Rather than try to mold me into a version of themselves, they encouraged me to work on the issues that I found interesting. That’s why when the opportunity came around to return, it was a no-brainer.
