Of making the decision to head south to Tucson, Joe says,
"I chose Arizona Law because I wanted to attend someplace where students of all backgrounds were able to access legal education, and UA was one of the only schools I toured where that felt like a priority."
As a law student, Joe's main emphases are labor and employment law, discrimination law, and LGBTQ+ impact work. After law school, he would ideally like to work in labor policy or workers' rights organizing. Some of his most valuable JD class experiences so far have been in 1L legal writing with Professors Diana Simon and Sylvia Lett and the Workers' Rights Clinic with Professor Shefali Milczarek-Desai ('01).
Joe explains that the pandemic has definitely altered his study habits and professional development. School-wise, he says he's had to become a lot more self-disciplined.
"I'm taking my courses this semester asynchronously, so I've got to get my readings done solely to know the material, not because I'm worried about getting cold-called on it."
It's also led Joe to change his approach professionally.
"My externships during summer, fall, and now spring semester have all been remote, but I'm still expected to grow professionally and gain new skills from them. For me, that means working harder to connect with my team and my supervisors despite our virtual settings and seeking out feedback on my work products."
This semester, Joe has been remotely externing for ACLU-WA in Seattle. It's been great experience:
"I've been able to work on cases involving workplace discrimination, disability access to public facilities, LGBTQ+ healthcare inequities, and the criminalization of poverty, among many others! While the variety of the ACLU's cases was something that initially intimidated me, it's been what I've ended up liking most about working there."
We applaud Joe and all our current students for finding significant opportunities for growth through their remote learning and externships over the past year.