Need a Reset? Find Peace on the BC Ski Trip

I lived in Washington D.C. for two years before moving to Boston. After growing up in New York and spending plenty of time in Maine, the one thing I missed most in DC was winter. When I took my first BC Law tour, my tour guide mentioned the Killington ski trip. My mom, who joined me on the tour, saw my face light up and knew I was sold, as silly as it might seem.

This past weekend was the long-awaited trip, and I was nervous about it. I finally recovered from a bad flu that made the start of the semester wobbly at best. I got back to the gym and danced once I healed up, but was worried my body and mind were out of sorts. I was also rooming alone and wondered if I was missing out on the bonding experiences 2Ls and 3Ls talked about on prior trips. 

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Reading List for Rising Lawyers

The number one question I get from incoming 1Ls is: how do I prepare for law school? 

The short answer is: you shouldn’t prepare. Whether you’ve worked a long career or you’re fresh out of college like I was, use your time before law school to decompress and reset. I promise you won’t fall behind. The briefing, the outlining, the cold call, it’ll all come together eventually. 

But if you’re looking for something to do or want to get the gears turning ahead of time, here’s a list of my favorite legal reads: 

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The Language of Law: Meet Alvin Synarong

There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here! 

Our first three entries were with Sara Womble, a 2L from Winston Salem, NC, Elias Massion, who comes from Nashville, TN and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Samina Gagné from London and Columbia University. Today’s Q&A is with Alvin Synarong from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and Princeton.


Name, Hometown, Educational Background

Alvin Synarong; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; I went to Princeton and received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Portuguese with minors in Finance and Latin American Studies (Brazil emphasis).

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Thinking About Transferring? Look at BC.

I like to think of myself as one of the most non-traditional students at BC Law. I have a three-year-old daughter named Rose, who I am simply obsessed with. I am in my 30’s, a fact which seems to shock my classmates. I am an Active Duty Military member of the U.S. Coast Guard, having served eight years of service already, and I will (hopefully) get to serve at least twelve more. My little brother is also a 1L, grinding through his first year at BC Law and thriving.

Lastly, I am a transfer student. 

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How Do You Find Your Peace? Running Away from The Fishbowl

I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. 

– Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About when I Talk About Running

Most days, especially as fall rolls into winter, I get up before the sun. In the pre-dawn hours, I fumble around in the darkness of my quiet, slumbering apartment, attempting to make coffee and not wake up my partner. As this process gets underway, my dog follows me around dutifully, eyes shining like copper pennies, ears at full mast, ready to head out for another morning jaunt. His herding eye remains trained on its quarry as I put on my running shoes, and he readies himself for our adventure, stretching and strutting around on my creaky wood floors. 

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How the God of Wine and Madness (and Pinecones) Helped Me Find My Lawyer Mask

I was supposed to write this post last week, but you know how it is. Busy, busy, busy. And in the grand scheme of things, who cares? The universe is billions of years old, so what’s an extra week? And a week wouldn’t really matter at all except that last week was Halloween, and Halloween got me thinking about masks. Masks and Dionysos. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: what in the pumpkins does any of that have to do with law school? But sit tight; I’m getting there. You’ll see.

Everybody knows Dionysos. The god of wine, madness, and somewhat oddly, pinecones. But nobody actually gets to see the god. That’s the funny thing. Dionysos is always masked, always appearing as something he is not. On the one hand, that’s pretty typical for the Greeks. Mortal eyes cannot gaze upon the divine form and all that jazz. But on the other hand, Dionysos is unique in that regard. You don’t see him; you just feel him looking at you, like a disappointed grandmother. And even though you can’t look at him, when Dionysos looks at you, you feel it right down to your soon-to-be dancing toes. That’s when you learn about a whole new dimension of yourself. 

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Traded One Gavel for Another: Meet Samina Gagné

There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our new series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here! 

Our first and second entries were with Sara Womble, a 2L from Winston Salem, NC, and Elias Massion, who comes from Nashville, TN and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Today’s Q&A is with Samina Gagné from London and Columbia University.


What did you do before coming to law school?

Before law school, I was an Auctioneer and Senior Client Development Manager in the art auction industry.  I worked my way up in the ranks of Sotheby’s and Phillips—working for both organizations in New York and London—to become one of the youngest auctioneers at a major auction house. Here’s a video link! This career allowed me to be both analytical and creative, while also constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone.

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Halloween in the Heart of Fenway: Spooky Tales of a BC Law Tradition

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Fall is an amazing season all around, but Halloween is the apex. My birthday is right around the end of the month, so to me it’s a whole week of cake and candy. Ending it by getting dressed up in costumes is a bonus.

I heard about the BC Law Halloween Party during my tour as a prospective student. The pitch was that while the end of October marks the big shift towards memos and finals, this was the big release everyone takes part in before exams. I can say the mood on campus has gotten seasonally spooky with how busy everyone has been. However, I got all my readings done, put down my memo draft, and swore I would make the most of the evening off.

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The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned About Law School So Far: The “I Love Me More” Approach

Now more than halfway through my first law school semester, the initial warnings and disclaimers that I had been told before coming are starting to make sense. This line I am walking between letting law school take over my time and giving myself time to breathe is one I find becomes blurry depending on what my days or weeks look like. For example, last week my section had our first memo draft due on Friday. On top of all the other classwork I had, all I could think about was the memo. Wake up: memo. Drive to school: memo. Read my Contracts cases: memo. Fold my laundry: memo. Call Mom: memo.

One night as I was laying in bed, I felt an overwhelming wave of law school rise over me. My post-9pm thoughts were racing, and I wondered if this was the thing that was bound to happen that would stick with me until my graduation in May 2027: that all I am is law school. 

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From Teaching to Transformative Change: Meet Elias Massion

There are numerous roads to law school, and no one-size fits all path to a successful legal career. Follow along with our new series highlighting BC Law students and how they got here! 

Our first entry was a Q&A with Sara Womble, a 2L from Winston Salem, NC. Our second entry is with Elias Massion, who comes from Nashville, TN and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


What did you do before coming to law school?

I completed the Teach For America program in New Orleans! I was a 5th and 6th Grade Social Studies Teacher at Mildred Osborne Charter School. I taught Native American history and European colonization in the Americas as well as ancient civilizations (my personal favorite). I’ve always had an interest in teaching so this was a great opportunity to gain that experience on my path to law school.

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