Vanderbilt Scholar
How did you decide to pursue law?
Entering college, I had a general interest in social science policy work and saw myself becoming a quantitative researcher. Law was nowhere on my radar. That changed abruptly my sophomore year, when I took a constitutional law class to satisfy a requirement for my Political Science major. I became enthralled by the Supreme Court cases we read and loved the process of legal argumentation I experienced through our final brief and oral argument exam. I was fortunate to intern at the Supreme Court the following summer. There I got to interact with attorneys from a wide variety of backgrounds, who deepened my interest in law not just as an intellectual exercise but as a mechanism for protecting and empowering communities.
After college, my time working as a paralegal for the Department of Justice Antitrust Division solidified by desire to pursue law. As I watched attorneys taking depositions, building a factual record over many months, and ultimately arguing in court, I pictured myself doing all those things and knew I wanted to pursue a career where I could work on dynamic, meaningful litigation.
You’re a Constitutional Law teacher at NYU High School Law Institute. Can you tell us about that? How has that teaching experience influenced your legal education?
NYU’s High School Law Institute is a terrific program that provides a free legal curriculum to high schoolers in the New York City area. I got involved my 2L year, and have absolutely loved it. I get to teach constitutional law to a group of about 25 incredibly motivated and intelligent high schoolers. It’s a fun challenge to distill the concepts I learned in my own Constitutional Law course into short lessons accessible for 14–18-year-olds. I’ve been so inspired by how engaged and thoughtful the students are, especially as we inevitably discuss topics intertwined with current events.
I think the biggest influence the experience has had on my own education is a reminder that it is important to remain healthily critical of our legal system and institutions. We spend a lot of time learning what the law is, but we also engage with the students about why certain doctrines have developed and how they think those doctrines could be improved.
Which Law School class or experience has had the biggest impact on you?
I’ve been fortunate to have so many great professors and courses at NYU Law that it’s difficult to choose! But one class that continues to resonate with me is my 1L Constitutional Law course with [Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law] Melissa Murray. That class—I think due to both the content of constitutional law and Professor Murray’s teaching style—really emphasized the human narrative side of law. We discussed the stories of the real people behind the cases we read, and considered how constitutional law impacted their life. We also thought critically about how judges and justices writing opinions frame facts and legal issues, and how those framings create broader narratives within jurisprudence. I definitely loved the content of Constitutional Law, but the course also shaped how I’ve approached my 2L courses and the law generally.
Outside of the classroom, my work as an editor on the NYU Law Review has had a tremendous impact on my legal education. Working on a generalist journal, I’ve gotten to experience a wide range of legal scholarship while working with a group of editors who all bring their own unique perspectives, which has nurtured my own growth as a law student. As someone hoping for a career as a litigator, it’s been exciting to see the dialogue between legal scholarship and practice, and my time on Law Review has shown me the importance of staying in touch with academic legal thought while working as a legal practitioner.
What do you most like to do outside of class? What’s your favorite way to spend a day in New York City?
Attending NYU Law is my first time living in New York City, so I feel like I still have so much to explore. My ideal day involves some combination of running along the West Side Highway up into Riverside Park, practicing drums at a studio in the Lower East Side—I’m excited to be playing in the Law Revue band this year!—and exploring new neighborhoods with my girlfriend. I love a day at a museum and have enjoyed living uptown close to Natural History and the Met—touristy, I know, but I still manage to see something new on every visit!
Have you read any books or heard any podcasts lately that you would recommend?
I recently finished Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, which I absolutely loved and would highly recommend. It’s a really unique narrative that pieces together various characters’ memories and dreams, and the writing is beautiful throughout. For a complete departure from the real world, I also read Piranesi by Susanna Clarke over winter break, which is a great fantasy mystery book—don’t want to give more than that!
My podcast rotation is mainly just a mix of news and legal podcasts, but I’ll plug two of my favorites that just happen to be co-hosted by professors I’ve had at NYU: Main Justice, co-hosted by Professor Andrew Weissmann, and Strict Scrutiny, co-hosted by Professor Melissa Murray, are both fantastic!
Posted February 27, 2025