#iambclaw

Dancing the Night Away at Barrister’s Ball

/ Melissa Gaglia / Leave a comment

Barrister’s Ball is one for the books, and I’m not talking about casebooks. Informally known as “law prom,” Barrister’s Ball is a night where everyone gets dressed to the nines and dances away the stresses of law school. This year, it was hosted at the Museum of Science. It was such a fun venue. Dinosaurs photobombed pictures, lightning (safely) struck two of our classmates, and we danced under Mars.  

As a 3L, I felt sentimental about the night. This was one of the last times I would be with everyone before graduating and leaving Boston College. It made me feel like a senior in high school all over again. The anticipation building up to this event was full of excitement and glee: picking out an outfit, getting ready, and asking someone to prom. It all felt juvenile, but in the very best way.  Now, even though “law prom” is over, that sentimental feeling remains.

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What’s Law School Really Like? Let Me Tell You.

/ Michael Deere / Leave a comment

When I was applying, I brought my wife to Admitted Students’ Day. It was a Big Deal. We both dressed up. She sat with me through the mock class. We had lunch together in the cafeteria. She came to the panels, went on the tour, and generally learned as much about law school as I did. It was a good day. A really good day. And though I learned a great deal, I still wanted to know: what’s law school really like? How do people dress for class? Is cold-calling really as bad as it seems? Will I make friends? Are the professors like Kingston in The Paper Chase? That kind of thing. 

I think what I was looking for was the law school equivalent of those really detailed product reviews on Amazon that you just kinda trust. You know the type. The reviewer always sounds like they really want to like the product, but they’re just not sure. They go over the results of their research. They compare models. And they’re always weirdly specific about little things: “yeah, I ran the Samurai Slicer on full speed. Noticed a slight wobble, but that’s pretty standard on models like this one that use a polymer base instead of steel.” It sounds authentic. It sounds real. 

Where was that for BC Law? Not the HR presentation, not the Tour Talk, but the weirdly specific Amazon review. Well, guess what? It’s right here. So after you unsubscribe from the r/lawschooladmissions subreddit and join r/lawschool, take a moment to yourself, crack open a Success Beer, and read on to find out what BC Law is really like…

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Spinning Through Law School

/ Melissa Gaglia / Leave a comment

“Hype yourself up, before you psych yourself out!”  These are the words that I constantly yell at my peers . . . in the spin room. This past August, I became a certified spin instructor. My decision to become a spin instructor was encouraged by my classmate Ben Minerva. Ben knew that I was going to spin classes daily and questioned why I did not just become an instructor.  Fast forward after months of training and making playlists, and I have been teaching spin classes at Boston College’s Margot Connell Recreation Center four times a week. 

The highlights of my week have often been filled with moments from my spin classes. Spin has acted like a safe haven for me from the stresses that come with being a law student. Someone once told me that the feeling of being nervous is identical to the feeling of being excited. I use my spin classes as a way to channel my law school fueled nerves into the exciting energy that comes with teaching a spin class. My spin classes have also been a space where I have grown so much as a person. I learned how to find and use my voice, how to troubleshoot problems on the spot, and how to build trust and rapport quickly with those who barely know me. All of these lessons, in my opinion, are transferable to my legal career. 

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Check out the BC Law Ski Trip on TikTok

/ kristievhoang / Leave a comment

Each February, The Law Student Association holds a beloved annual tradition at BC Law: ski trip. Dozens of students head to the mountains in Killington, Vermont, to bunk up together in condos and hit the slopes before finding great restaurants and bars at night to socialize.

This year, we featured the ski trip on our brand new TikTok channel. Check that out–and all the rest of our great content on the channel!

@bclawonline

Got away from the casebooks for a weekend 🚡 #ski #vermont #lawtok #lawschool #IAmBCLaw

♬ original sound – Boston College Law School

Go to @bclawonline for more TikTok content from BC Law, from faculty talking about the latest legal news to a day-in-the-life of students.

Food Review: The Best Bagels Around BC Law

/ Travis Salters / 1 Comment

The Impact Blog is launching a new spotlight series focused on local foods! We believe that one of the most important features of an area is the food, and no one should need to search far for good options. We’ll provide critiques and reviews of foods in the immediate Newton area surrounding the BC Law campus. Not all establishments are made equal, so whether you’re planning on coming to BC Law or just recently moved to the area, we’ll try all the local spots so you don’t have to.

Our first review turns to an American staple that doesn’t receive the credit it deserves. An often overlooked, taken for granted, carb-y snack: BAGELS!

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‘The sport of argument:’ Nathaniel DeMelis and a Commitment to Justice

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

Be it the penchant for holiday arguments, or the lessons of my late grandfather, my family has consistently shaped my growth and founded my interest in the law. 

In an Italian family that frequently exercises their freedom of speech in the sport of argument, it can be difficult to get a word in edgewise—especially around the holiday dinner table. There exists only a brief window of opportunity to make your point, and make it well, before you will either be refuted or simply shouted down.

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‘Empowering young women to use their voice:’ Ellie Burger and Creating Change

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

Halfway through our cruise on the Potomac River, myself and the other Prudential Spirit of Community Award recipients were told to elaborate further on what convened us there that day. We had all been selected for making meaningful contributions to our communities through volunteer service. While I was eager to share details on the organization I had founded and hear from the other participants about theirs, I was hesitant. I could not help but think that there was a ceiling of sorts, a limit to the impact that any one individual, especially an adolescent, could have on such serious matters.

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‘A calling by God:’ Jason O’Dwyer and the Catholic Mission

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

When I was a senior in high school, I realized the truth of God’s existence, and after a long period of contemplation, I began my process of conversion to the Catholic Church. This conversion has been my greatest challenge to overcome, my greatest trial, though this has been a spiritual trial rather than a physical or mental one. Much like Soren Kierkegaard laid out in his body of work, my process of fully accepting the truth of Christianity and becoming a Christian involved the laborious process of adopting the obligations that the Christian worldview puts on a believer. Going from the ethical phase of my life to a truly religious sense required a shift in my entire perspective on the most fundamental level. To accomplish this, I needed to abdicate my selfish desires for worldly things, learn to love God with my whole being, and take up a new self-image as a child of God. This process of becoming a Christian not only led me to Boston College, but also led me to my desire to learn the legal practice in the first place, so that I could fulfill my vocation and use all my faculties to be a man for others in the truest sense.

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‘A matter of life and death:’ Avika Shana Dhillon and Advocating for Others

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / 1 Comment

Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

Music on hold is torture. Dial-up internet mixed with semi-smooth jazz and alien static, continuing in tightening circles that constrict the listener as a boa constrictor annihilates a deer. As a chronically ill person, hours on hold with my future in peril has made me maintain perspective on what I need to accomplish before time runs out. I need to ensure quality of care from my provider, while not burning out before my cell phone battery does. Am I going to law school because waiting for a medical insurance representative to speak with me enrages me? Not exactly. I am going because the fear that accompanies the entire process of receiving healthcare represents a problem I want to alleviate, and that will best be accomplished by attending law school.

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‘For when I’m dead or gone:’ Fax Amillion Victor and Pathways to Education

/ BC Law Impact Guest Posts / Leave a comment

Over the 2022 holiday break, the BC Law Impact blog is running a series of some of the most powerful and fascinating admissions essays from first-year students. These personal statements, submitted as part of their admissions applications, tell a variety of compelling stories, but the thread connecting them all is an example of the kind of person who is attracted to a BC Law education: one who is driven to work collaboratively with others, achieve great things and make a real difference in the world.

We want to thank the Office of Admissions, and all of the student essay writers, for agreeing to share their stories with us. For more Admissions tips and other content, check out BC Law’s new TikTok channel.

On April 8, 2015, my pops slowly pulled in front of my high school to drop me off. As if it was any other day, he pressed play on the cassette tape in his ’04 Chevy Impala and Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” seeped through the speakers. Usually we would sing along, but not today. As soon as the song ended, we hugged.

“For when I’m dead or gone,” my pops whispered in my ear.

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