A career services advisor can be an amazing resource in law school as you navigate OCI, externships, clerkship applications, and more. However, it’s important that you find the advisor who can best help you reach your personal goals! To do so, follow along with this new series to learn about each CSO advisor at Boston College Law School. Here is our interview with Jill Hwang.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in law school, and how did you overcome it?

One of the biggest challenges for me was figuring out how to use my legal education in a way that felt meaningful and true to myself. I went into law school with a strong interest in human rights and immigration work. These areas felt personally significant and professionally interesting to me. However, during law school, I found myself taking all the standard classes and talking to a lot of private sector attorneys. While other students seemed genuinely interested in these areas, I found myself feeling like I “should” be interested and that I needed to keep these doors open because they were “successful” options. I ended up going through first-round OCI interviews and said all the right things (I think), but none of them felt true or right for me. My answers were given to satisfy the employer, rather than generated out of my own experience and desires. So, I declined all of my call backs. This should have felt hard, but actually it felt great. I ended up working as an immigration attorney at a public interest organization for thirteen years. It was not high-paying, it was not prestigious, and I did not climb any big ladders, but the job was the right fit for me for a variety of reasons, and it felt personally and professionally significant and meaningful, even on the most stressful days.

What’s the best piece of career advice you can offer students?

As an extension to what I said above, my best advice to students is to take the time to question what motivates you to the law – where do you feel inspired and excited to contribute? Where do your past experiences and personal background intersect with the legal world? What feels purposeful and worth the stress to you? Almost any job is going to be stressful, and you want to feel good about taking on that stress. And, it’s okay to explore and get it wrong along the way — sometimes you have to spend time doing something to know it isn’t right for you. Your interests and priorities will also change over time. The important thing is to ask the questions and have courage to be honest with your answers — ultimately, you want your legal education to serve you and not the other way around. 

What do you do on a typical weekend?

I like reading books and watching k-dramas, so that’s what I would ideally do on a weekend. But an actual typical weekend for me involves sports games and birthday parties with my three kids. I also often have friends over for meals and good conversations. Going for a walk/run with my high-energy (read: needy) lab is on the list, too. 

What’s the best place to eat near the law school?

For a good cup of coffee, check out George Howell in Newtonville, just up the street. For dim sum, go to Joyful Garden in Watertown or Taiwanese brunch at Chung-Shin Yuan in Newton. You can also grab some fried chicken or garlic shrimp at Mochiko Hawaiian in Newtonville. If you’re willing to go a little further, get takeout from Taqueria El Amigo in Waltham — the best tacos in the area! Craving Southern BBQ? Go to Blue Ribbon in West Newton.

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Tess Halpern is a third-year student and president of the Impact blog. Contact her at halperte@bc.edu.