Tuesday, August 17, 2010

AEP week 2

The first week of the Summer Institute at L&C was mostly fun, with lots of introductions, networking, and just a little bit of reading and writing. The second week has started out a little more serious, with a visit from Prof. Steverson, who brought her Socratic skills from Harvard to our AEP classroom. I can tell that this is going to be a challenging academic experience, but it also seems like there is a great deal of potential for fun at the same time.

Last Friday Walkfast had a show at the Rock Bottom, and this was well attended by other 1L students looking to relax and build their networks. We brought together some students from the AEP with others from the 1L class, and everybody had a great time. It's been a good opportunity to practice my own networking skills, and I expect that will be true of my entire career in law school and beyond.

I didn't really appreciate or understand the value of networking very well until I came to Portland. I tended to be a loner and not very social, and only found limited opportunities to expand my circle of friends and acquaintances. Since my first fateful visit to the NWSCC, I have slowly come to realize not only the awesome power of building a social and professional network, but the great fun that comes with meeting new people.

I doubt that anyone is really "ready" for all the challenges of law school, but I do feel that the past five years have been a period of self reflection, personal growth and consciousness expanding that will provide a better foundation for success in law school, and in life. Thanks for being part of it.

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