Norman Ostrow Scholarship
Dean’s Merit Scholarship
You’ve done some political and legislative work in your career so far. How has that background informed your legal education? How did you decide to pursue law?
I originally wanted to work in city planning when I was younger. I guess I had this conception that if I understood “cities” and infrastructure that I would be able to give back to Detroit. I hold my hometown dearly. I’ve heard awful things about it all my life, but it’s truly such an awesome and beautiful city.
Anyways, that initial intention and converging interests in trying to do right by people and the planet led me to work for the Detroit City Planning Commission, some community development corporations, Detroit City Councilman Roy McCalister, Pennsylvania House Representative—now US Congresswoman!—Summer Lee, and some fellowships, among other positions. And while that was all extremely satisfying work in its own right, I felt that a lot of the work I was interested in could be more effectively approached with a more substantial legal background. I was oftentimes doing work with lawyers or working closely with them doing legal review, and I realized I wanted to operate at that level. I didn’t want to hit any ceilings.
I felt that as a lawyer, I could be a lot more useful to my loved ones and the world generally. If someone had an issue, and they couldn’t afford representation, I would be in a position to help instead of wishing I could help.
What’s more, after working in the public sector for so long, I wanted to learn more about how the private sector functions and get a more holistic picture of infrastructure at large—and the people and processes behind the scenes. I wanted to know how everything worked, so I could maximize my impact.
You’ve been the development co-chair of the Social Enterprise & Startup Law (SESL) Group. Tell us about that experience.
Me and my bestie—big shoutout to Jacob Wecht ’25—were development co-chairs, and it was all-around fantastic! We put on a lot of events I really personally enjoyed and were fortunate to work with Emily Wazlak, director of the NYU Law Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital (EVC) Program, on a couple of different events. We even made it to the pitch competition finals!.
It’s always such a beautiful and inspiring thing to talk to people about SESL and watch their minds open up to the different forms legal practice can take. I also really love seeing how much NYU Law supports student entrepreneurship and startups, and the access to mentorship and resources has been the impetus of a great many successful companies. I love seeing the fire build up in people when they go from thinking, “I could never possibly do this” to “Wait a minute, maybe I could do this” to the first thrust of actually trying something, and SESL and the EVC are hearths for that.
The Grunin Center funds an SESL trip every year, and last year we went to Dublin, where we learned about Ireland’s unique infrastructure and incentives for facilitating startups within Ireland and positioning for attracting foreign businesses and operating as the intermediary for a lot of EU businesses. It was a formative legal and personal experience and I carry those friendships, professional connections, and lessons with me every day.
Which Law School class or experience has had the biggest impact on you?
Working with the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship and the International Transactions Clinic, by far! Through the Grunin Center and the tutelage of Professor Deborah Burand, I’ve found the perfect field for my character and interests — social entrepreneurship, or positive impact dealmaking. I’ve been blessed with opportunities to gain a bevy of experience doing substantial impact work within that field and exposure to a broad spectrum of modalities and frameworks demonstrating the myriad fashions in which social enterprises can operate.
I did an internship with Global Communities, an international development organization), that was funded by the Grunin Center, and I worked in the International Transactions Clinic. Through both, I was able to witness my ideals put into practice and find praxis embodying the idea that humanitarianism is logical and that it can be solvent. And that when we approach deals holistically and make space for our humanity, and our broader interests, there is an infinite horizon of possibilities of what we can accomplish.
Societal ills—besides their direct and indirect tragedies—also seem horribly inefficient to me. If we can create systems and representations that represent and respond to our reality more accurately—if we can communicate and see clearly how much our interests converge—we could live more happily, healthily, and harmoniously.
Working on deals served as proof of concept of that mindset and was sublimely actualizing. I feel confident that it’s possible to do the work I want to do and to be the kind of practitioner I want to be because of the work I did through Professor Burand, and I couldn’t be any more grateful.
What do you most like to do outside of class? What’s your favorite way to spend a day in New York City?
I love the sun and the summer; I love working out and I love dancing; I love music, any kind of music; I love drawing and painting; I love games and performances.
I love that New York City always has some once-in-a-lifetime party or fanfare or something or other going on. I love that one of your friends you haven’t seen in a while always happens to be coming for a visit. I love that you can travel through the whole city on the subway with ease. There’s always somewhere to go to have a good time, and it’s always someone’s birthday.
It feels bittersweetly arduous to come up with a satisfying response—there’s so many people to see and only so many hours in a day. So I’ll say an ideal day is one I don’t take for granted, I do as much as I can, and go to sleep excited for tomorrow.
Posted April 25, 2025