Pre-Law stories, paths, organizations on campus

A series of different conversations, exchanges and choices often converge to create what students call a career path. After having traveled very different paths, Alejandra Roman, Brittney Samuels and Jennifer Wilson all arrived at the decision to pursue pre-law undergraduate degrees.

Alejandra Roman suffered a tragic loss in seventh grade; she lost her sister in a car accident, and when her family tried to get justice for her death, the case was closed as a fatal accident. The driver responsible for her death walked free, and Roman’s family was stripped of justice for their daughter.

“It’s [this] personal experience that made me take the pre-law route route,” Roman said. “I come from a low-income family, [and we] couldn’t afford a lawyer, so we were assigned lawyers, [and they] weren’t effective to my sister’s case. [It] was labeled as a fatal accident when it wasn’t her fault.”

Roman believes that her family’s inability to afford a lawyer placed them at a disadvantage in achieving the justice her sister deserved. The pain and anger from this loss has manifested itself as an inner drive and passion to become a public defender and to give back to the community that supported her family through this time.

“I know how much it means to people to at least have closure — to know that your family got justice,” Roman said. “Every person deserves an effective lawyer. When my family was going through such a tragic moment, my community was always there for me. I […] want to give back for all the help I received when I need it the most.”

Roman believes joining the La Raza Pre-Law Student Association has been one of her best decisions, allowing her to find a safe space of people with whom she shares the same ambitions. The group, geared toward increasing the number of Chicanxs and Latinxs in the profession helps its members through the process of getting into law school; students often share internships and beneficial opportunities with each other.

“La Raza, I guess in a sense means ‘our people,’ [in that] my people are coming together and trying to excel in life together,” Roman said.

Another organization on campus that also strives to create a space for pre-law students is the Pre-Law Association. Brittney Samuels, a third-year sociology and African American and African studies double major and co-vice president of the organization, has wanted to pursue law since she was 7 years old.

“When I was in elementary school, I used to come home everyday and my aunt would be watching Law and Order,” Samuels said. “So I’d be watching that [too] until my mom came and picked me up. And I thought, ‘oh my God this is perfect!’”

Upon hearing her speak, people would ask young Samuels if she hoped to be an attorney someday, as she was not afraid to ask questions and challenge what was true and just.

“When I was 9 [years old], I called Sprint customer service, and [argued] about a charge on my bill,” Samuels said. “I saw the bill on the table and [realized] it wasn’t right, because I didn’t do this and if my parents found out I’d get in trouble. So called them and I handled it myself.”

Samuels’ active and confrontational personality enable her to approach contentious  situations fearlessly and seek a solution, never acting solely as a bystander.

“I probably call places […] almost every two weeks,” Samuels said. “If something isn’t right I never just sit there and say ‘it’s okay, next time.’ No. I don’t do that. I’m gonna get my justice.”

Jennifer Wilson, a fourth-year psychology and communication double major, has recently accepted an offer from the University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law. A former member of UC Davis’ Pre-Law Association, Wilson is now a success story and someone her community can look to for advice.

“I didn’t come into Davis thinking that I wanted to do law school,” Wilson said. “I kind of just came in. I decided to take a legal writing course here to try to see if there was something that I was interested in, and ended up really liking. The next quarter I took an investigative journalism class — that’s the best class I’ve ever taken here. It was so rewarding. That’s when I kind of decided law school is for me.”

After navigating through different courses and interests, Wilson discovered a passion in law. However, she admits that this journey is not without its tests — quite literally.

“I took the LSAT prep course. That really sucked. [The whole journey] sounds really jumbled up, but [there] was a lot more crying and confusion between there,” Wilson said. “But I really have to say, when I toured law schools last year, whenever I sat in a law school, I just feel it in myself. I feel like I belong there, and it’s just somewhere I want to be.”

Many pre-law students pursue bachelor’s degrees in philosophy, english, history or even economics. However, Wilson and Roman both chose to major in psychology.

“A lot of people go the traditional route with studying political science, history or English,” Wilson said. “Honestly, I didn’t do any of the pre-law things that they say to do. I majored in what I wanted to do.”

Roman believes that studying psychology will give her an edge in understanding the human psyche, motives people have behind their actions and, most importantly, whether or not someone is lying. This mindset is an example of how UC Davis students mold their unique backgrounds to complement their individual career goals and set themselves apart from the “typical” pre-law student.

“The biggest thing is knowing if your client or someone else is lying to you,” Roman said. “I feel that through psychology, you are able to detect [and] start to learn the techniques of why people act the way they do. That’d be a very good advantage to have as a lawyer.”

Wilson aspires to practice entertainment law, Samuels aspires to practice sports law and Roman aspires to become a public defender.

“I want to do this to empower my community, to empower my people,” Roman said. “And to show people that even though life gets hard, there’s still hope. We are the change and we are the future.”
Written by: Sahiti Vemula — features@theaggie.org

Students share what makes their long-distance relationships work

It was her junior year at Davis High School when Jenna Farboud and her current partner had chemistry — that is, AP Chemistry.

“Actually when we were really young we went to preschool together, apparently,”
Farboud said. “But I didn’t really know him so that doesn’t count as when we first met.”

Junior year rolled into senior year and Farboud and her boyfriend received acceptance letters from the colleges of their choice. He flew off to Montana while Farboud stayed in Davis where she is now a fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, but that didn’t stop the two from staying in a relationship.

“We weren’t going to base our decisions on ‘Oh, I’m going to follow you.’ We wanted to do what was best for ourselves and our majors,” Farboud said. “The summer went really well and we decided ‘let’s give it a try,’ but the first year was definitely really hard.”

Despite the distance, Farboud and her boyfriend celebrated their five year anniversary in April. The toughest challenge they face now is deciding what they want to do after college.

“I’m planning on taking some more classes in the summer and he’s going to be working here […], but after that I’m planning on applying to nursing school, and he’s thinking about going to paramedic school,” Farboud said. “We’re trying to make that work, but it’s hard to plan. We’ve definitely talked about how it’s like Grey’s Anatomy, he’s the paramedic and I’m the nurse.”

Farboud said taking their long-distance relationship one step at a time, alongside trust, is the glue that keeps their relationship strong.

“I think the most important thing about a long-distance relationship is being able to trust each other because if you’re not feeling very confident about the strength of your relationship, that can make it really stressful,” Farboud said.

Trust is a vital component to most relationships, but especially ones where opportunities to see one’s partner in person are few and far between. Savannah Vandenbos, a third-year nutrition science major, said that she’s learned a lot about trust since starting her long-distance relationship with her girlfriend who lives in Santa Cruz.

“What I hear from a lot of people is that they’re afraid to be in a long-distance relationship because they’re not sure what the other person would be doing or thinking,” Vandenbos said. “[Since] I’ve started out in a long distance relationship, […] I don’t have the worry that anything is going to happen or that [anything] isn’t going to be communicated or transparent between us. I think you need a higher level of willingness to trust when it comes to long distance.”

Finding the time to do anything between schoolwork, jobs and internships can be challenging in college, especially on the quarter system. Vanderbos sees her partner roughly once every six weeks, but to fill the time they spend apart they often communicate via classic Skype calls, daily text messages and, more thoughtfully, through mail.

“We decided on sending each other letters a lot,” Vanderbos said. “I don’t think either of us went into it thinking it would be super challenging because I think if you just go into it with excitement that you can feel close to someone without being physically next to them, it can totally work out.”

Vanderbos and her girlfriend try to call each other when they have random breaks in their days, and they don’t have any particular structure to the amount of time they talk to each other. This works for some in long-distance relationships, but for others, it’s easier to manage time with partners through scheduled one-on-one time.

Monica Doyle, a fourth-year statistics major, met her partner in high school and faced a situation similar to Farboud. While she came to Davis, her boyfriend went to UC Santa Barbara. Although at first she was nervous coupling a first-time move away from home with a first-time long-distance relationship, she has since decided that long-distance relationships are definitely doable.

“You can’t see them all the time, […] it takes a toll on you because their support is not directly there,” Doyle said. “But I think as long as you set aside time to talk to each other you can still stay connected. For me personally, I like to Skype, so we make sure to set aside one day the week that we would always skype and have something regular to stay connected.”

After quickly discovering how easy it can be to become distracted with schoolwork and other responsibilities during casual Skype calls, Jill Marzolino, a fourth-year plant biology and English double major, likes to schedule phone calls and Skype calls with her long-distance girlfriend too.

“It’s really easy to be like ‘yeah I’m talking to you but I’m reading this article, I’m taking a quiz, I’m working on my paper,’” Marzolino said. “In the beginning [of our relationship] we would be talking to each other [via Skype], but after awhile we’d just be working next to each other — which is great — but when one person is trying to talk and one person is trying to work, it doesn’t work. It’s real bad.”

With long distance comes the understanding that each person in the relationship is going to be busy and has their own lives to worry about.

“I think if you can handle juggling a lot of things, you can be better at a long-distance relationship,” Marzolino said. “If you have a full life of your own, that’s always really good, but also you either have to already be really solid [with your partner] or you have to figure it the f— out.”

Marzolino’s girlfriend lives in Berkeley, and the shuttle that runs between her school and UC Davis is a great way for the two of them to visit each other. Although they’ve each forged their own lives with their own communities and friends, time together back home in southern California is invaluable. Whether that means running around on a fun adventure in a big city or cooking a meal and watching TV on the couch, Marzolino doesn’t take a moment for granted.

“When I’m home for vacation there’s always that feeling that you need to do everything, that it has to be perfect and you have to have fun every single second you’re together, [but] it’s good to have normal time,” Marzolino said. “It can still be a little special and a little normal. [When we] just sit together and chill, I’m always like ‘oh no but we need to be doing something epic right now!’ but then taking a deep breath and being like ‘no we don’t, this is good, let’s just be happy.’”

Whether it’s going off to college for the first time, going into the real world or just going back home for the summer many miles away, long-distance relationships don’t have to be scary. Instead, with the right attitude, they can be exciting and fun.

“I would say [approach a long-distance relationship] with the idea that it doesn’t have to be sad,” Vanderbos said. “I think it can be super fun and super cute, even though you don’t get to see the person on a daily or weekly — or sometimes even monthly — basis. You can still be spontaneous or fun and have a good time even if you’re long distance.”
Written by Marlys Jeane — features@theaggie.org

Historic building will become a new home for graduate, professional students

On the “UC Davis Memes for Edgey Teens” Facebook group, Carter Johnson, a second-year applied math graduate student, posted a well-known meme template: “what we really want” listing the much-anticipated opening of the Memorial Union’s Games Area, and  “what administrators think students want” listing a sketch of the design for the Walker Hall redevelopment. Scheduled to open in 2019, Walker Hall will soon be home to the Graduate and Professional Student Center, which Johnson said he is genuinely excited for.

“I’ve been wondering when they were going to do something about the most dilapidated central building on campus,” Johnson said. “If anything, I wish it had been prioritized sooner. In my opinion, the school needs to focus more on the needs of the students it already has before trying to attract a larger population.”

Housing the Graduate and Professional Student Center will be the third repurposing of Walker Hall. Originally built in 1927 for the Agricultural Engineering Department, the building last housed Design and Landscape Architecture facilities. Walker Hall has been closed since 2011 due to insufficient seismic preparedness.

According to the 2012 proposal for UC Davis’ now-approved Graduate and Professional Student Center presented to then-Chancellor Linda Katehi, a push for such a center began in 2003. However, Carlos Ruvalcaba, the chair of the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and a fourth-year in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. program, said support for such a center stems from as early back as 1992.

“Other campuses actually already have graduate student centers,” Ruvalcaba said. “Their rationale is […] if graduate students are more aware of their resources and have space that is outside their lab, then, in theory, they should be more effective educators.”

Currently, there is no designated physical space specifically for graduate students or postdoctoral scholars. Marjannie Eloi Akintunde, the Senior Career Advisor for Career Services for Graduate and Postdoctoral Scholars at the Internship and Career Center who received her Ph.D. in immunology from UC Davis, had access to a lab and a professor while she worked on completing her degree. However, she said there was no designated working space while her husband worked on his Ph.D. in geography.

“A lot of grad students don’t have a home or a place [on campus],” Eloi Akintunde said. “Grad students end up floating around. Especially with all of the social science and humanities grad students, after they pass their qualifying exam, they don’t come back to campus sometimes […] so they’ll lose that community. A lot of them start to feel isolated and that can develop into […losing] your motivation.”

Michael Lairmore, the dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine who works with mostly graduate and professional students, said the center will serve as an important space to promote both social and work-based networking.

“We pride ourselves on interdisciplinary graduate programs at UC Davis [and] one way to promote that […] is to have a space and environment that encourages [the] cross-hybridization of ideas,” Lairmore said. “They really are the workforce that drives the research part of the mission of the university. I think it’s important to show them the respect that they need.”

Presently, overgrown trees have partially hidden the “Engineering” lettering at the front entrance to Walker Hall — named after H.B. Walker, a former chair of the Agricultural Engineering Department — and cobwebs cover the sloping door handles at the front entrance.

Amanda Steidlmayer, the strategic initiatives coordinator for Graduate Studies who also serves on the project’s advisory committee, has the blueprints and early sketches of the planned Walker Hall exterior thumbtacked to the walls of her cubicle. According to Steidlmayer, the front side of the building, which faces Hart Hall, will be retained while a wood facade with additional lighting will be added to the back side, which faces Everson Hall.

“The idea is to keep the historic front,” Steidlmayer said. “Inside, it is getting gutted — just because it’s had so many lives. As you’re going by from the Silo to the library you’ll be able to come in and there’s going to be a big courtyard and a walking path.”

According to Steidlmayer, the center will eventually include features such as large classrooms, a multipurpose room, a childcare room and a lactation room. Resources on campus such as the Office of Graduate Studies and the GSA will be relocated to the center.

“We have three graduate preparatory programs — the McNair Scholars Program, the Guardian Professions Program and UC LEADS,” said Elizabeth Lambert, the marketing and communications manager for Graduate Studies. “Right now, they’re all dispersed through different areas on campus, but we’re going to centralize them within the Graduate and Professional Student Center. It’s not just giving the students a home, it’s giving these programs a home too.”

Both Eloi Akintunde and Ruvalcaba managed to stay socially active during their time as graduate students. However, both said they feel that graduate students at UC Davis struggle to find a community.

“Having a graduate center specifically designated to grad students can really help some of the students who don’t have a home place,” Eloi Akintunde said. “It would really help students feel like they have a sense of community and, in turn, I think it will help students enjoy their Ph.D. experience more.”
Written by: Hannah Holzer – features@theaggie.org