#uvalaw

“This may sound weird but it was good that we had something very specific to do. It helped me get through what otherwise was unbelievably terrifying.   Almost right in front of me, a man pulled a handgun and pointed it at somebody who had thrown paper at him. I think it was paper or something like that. In the moment, I had no mental space to process what I was seeing because we had a job to do. We had to keep going.”

"My best friend from law school and I would talk about how law review articles have a star footnote next to the author's name. In the star footnote they thank all the people who have helped them with the article. We thought diplomas should have star footnotes by your name. At the bottom you get to list all the people you want to thank who helped you through law school. I remember us talking about this idea with Mike Klarman [former UVA Law professor, now at Harvard] — we were big Klarman fans — and we were talking about all the people who would be in our diploma star footnote if there was such a thing. She would be in my star footnote, and I would be in hers. And Mike would be in both of ours, and all the people who really helped us out when we were here would be there. And I still like that idea. There should be more star footnotes in life where you say, ‘Thank you, everyone. Thank you so much.’”

“To build toward the future requires nothing more and nothing less than that we rededicate ourselves to the original, animating purpose of UVA — to serve. If everyone involved with UVA — students, faculty, staff and alumni — understands that this is our ultimate aim and their primary obligation, I have no doubt that we will be the leading public university, and one of the very best overall, in 2030 — and for good reason.”

“Looking down the hallway and knowing these people are going to follow and do more than even the people who were there before them, I just live in awe of that. I live in absolute awe.”

“I also am energized by the UVA Law students. I have received an incredibly warm welcome from so many students of all backgrounds and interests. I already have begun to engage with students who will attend this fall and who want to study education law. Helping to shape the future leaders of our nation is a privilege that I feel so blessed to enjoy. In my courses, I aim to create social engineers that will create a more just and equitable nation. My students are a large part of how I contribute to our society and the world.”

“My biggest passion has always been the environment. I did environmental engineering as an undergrad, but around my junior or senior year, I began to realize I could make a bigger difference through law and policy than through engineering itself. So I came to law school to do environmental law. ... Ultimately I just want to help create a more sustainable society.”

“I had kind of a roundabout path to law school. In college I was a music and business major. I thought I wanted to go into the music industry. As I was looking more into the industry, I realized the areas that I was most excited about were the laws. It was music that introduced my passion for the law. I realized there were a lot more ways the law could be used than just getting someone a record deal.”

“Six years ago I thought I’d be in med school. Three years ago I thought I’d be a prosecutor. And now I’ve found a different field that I’m really excited about. I don’t know where I’ll be in the next 10 years, but I’m just hopeful that I’ll have the same passion for whatever it is that I’m doing. ... My dad told me when I started college that careers are long and you shouldn’t worry about where you’re going to end up. A good career is going to take many turns, and you should look for open doors. I think going to law school was a great way to follow that, because a law degree just opens so many doors.”