From Cambridge to Utah, the incoming class of 2013 came from all over to find their way to Cardozo. Many have come straight from college. Others took a few years to find out that law was their true calling.
Al Roundtree, 1L, was working as a stage hand in the theater industry for many years, and even was part of a production of Shakespeare in the Park. However, as time went on, he decided there were other things he wanted to do. “I found that what had been stimulating a couple of years earlier since undergrad was no longer giving me the same feeling. So I was looking for the next challenge,” said Roundtree. “I didn’t want to be a box pusher for the rest of my life.”
Roundtree is not alone. The class of 2013 is filled with stories of people who took unique paths to make it here today. For Mark Adler, 1L, it took a family emergency for him to realize the importance of the law. “When my dad had a stroke two years ago his life was sort of torn apart,” Adler said. “There were a lot of attorneys to deal with the house and with taxes and many other issues that had to be dealt with. So I saw that a law degree was very helpful. There is a lot you can do with it. It is very versatile. You can help other people. You can help yourself. And that’s why I decided it was a degree I wanted to try.”
This is not to say that the entire incoming class is surprised they wound up in law school. Some, like Zhanna Dovordzhginidze, 1L, never envisioned herself doing anything else. “I have wanted to be an attorney since I was a little a kid. Some people go through different paths and zig zag to get to a certain point. I am always working in a straight line. Law is what I want to do. I have always wanted to do it. So here I am,” Dovordzhginidze explained.
While many foresee themselves working in the private sector, there are some who hope they can use their degrees to help the less fortunate. Elizabeth Seaver, 1L, worked in the financial industry while living in Utah. Over time, she began helping people in her spare time and decided that was something she was more interested in. “I’ve been volunteering in child welfare for three years in my home state and I’m really interested in trying to help people and when I graduate I hope to do that with my degree,” she says. Others who share Seaver’s interest, but don’t have much experience thus far, recognize how a law degree can be helpful in a future career in public service. “I’ve had many encounters where I’ve seen injustice and I’ve seen that the law was the way to get things done,” explained Natalie Phillips, 1L.
Though the incoming class’s interests vary, many share similar reasons for embarking on their legal careers at Cardozo. One reason is having friends and relatives who attended the law school. Phillips, for example, has a sister-in-law who graduated from Cardozo. Others were impressed by how Cardozo has risen in the rankings despite being one of the newer law schools in the nation. “I am really excited to be a part of the up-and-coming feeling and for the new kid on the block aspect of the school,” explained Roundtree. Seaver too was impressed by the reputation of Cardozo. “I really liked the program here, the people, and the professors were doing interesting things that I was reading about in Times, so it just felt like the right fit.”
Some like Dening Kong, 1L, attribute visiting the school in the Spring to helping them realize this was the place they wanted to be. “Admitted student’s day- I really loved it. I also liked the mock class,” Kong said. However, the overwhelming reason given for coming to Cardozo is the location itself: New York City. Roundtree, for example, wanted to make sure he went to school by his wife here in New York. Others like Allison Gotfied, 1L, are from the New York metro area, and wanted to move into the city itself. And some, like Cody Tripp, 1L, came from long distances to go to school in a big city. His experience can sum up what brought much of the incoming class here. “I was looking for a bigger market and Cardozo ended up being the best deal for me,” he explains.