Student Diary: Darcel Desjardins, 2L
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Student Diary: Darcel Desjardins, 2L |
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Wow- is it really the middle of February already? I just checked my journal, and saw that my last entry was back in October. October?! I could hardly believe that it had been that long. Things have been really busy at school, but in my personal life as well. I’ve just sold my current house and I’m in closing on my new house- I’m going to be a West Seattle-ite now, goodbye Everett!! It will be so nice not to have to commute so far to school everyday; it can be a brutal drive. I had to make the move because this summer I will be a Rule 9 in Pierce County, at the misdemeanor division, which should be exciting and I can’t wait.
This semester, BLSA has a lot of things going on. We’re current working on some ideas for Diversity Week in March, as well as the Women in Corporate Law panel which will be in March also. Our two big annual events, the Black Alumni Reception (March 27), and Black Graduation (May 15), are certainly keeping us busy as well.
As far as school goes, things have been flying by, but it really hasn’t been bad at all. My classes are going well, aren’t too much work, and since I’ve pretty much gotten my study habits and schedule figured out, it’s working out well for me. I’m currently taking Criminal procedure Investigative, Income Tax, and Employment Discrimination, all of which have been really good classes.
It really helped taking Evidence in the summer, as well as the fact that I completed Constitutional Law and Legal Writing last semester. Both of those classes are pretty heavy. I’m not on campus anywhere near as much as I was last year, or even last semester. I’m currently externing at the King County Prosecutor’s Office, which keeps me away from campus. It’s really nice to extern and get real life, hands- on, experience.
Well, back to reading for Criminal Procedure, and until next time!
My fall 2L semester has pretty much flashed before my eyes. It’s now just about November, and I’ve got to start preparing for finals. For me, this means doing my outlines and organizing my materials. What’s nice is that after my first year, I pretty much have my final preparation system down, so it won’t be too bad. Also, I only have four classes this semester because I took Evidence during the summer. If you can, always try to take at least one class during the summer, you’ll be glad you did once it’s over.
As for my LW II class, it’s going well. During your first year in LW, you work on numerous cases. But in LW II, you work on one case, beginning at the trial level and then onto the appellate level. We are now at the appellate level and are writing our appellate briefs, which are due on November 14. I have my appellate oral argument on December 5 before actual attorneys. On one hand, I like working on one case and seeing how it evolves to the appellate level. But on the other hand, working on one case for a whole semester gets to be a little tedious for me, personally. I am more of a fast-paced kind of person. I would love to never have to hear Cathy Bremmer’s name again (the defendant in our case). :)
In my Constitutional Law class, I must admit that I feel kind of lost. There are four or five different Constitutional Law courses being offered this semester, and I don’t really know if I understand Con Law as I should be. But I have my “Constitutional Law in a Nutshell” book and it will be my best friend during my Con Law take home exam!
In Administrative Law, there’s not much to say. The subject matter is kind of boring, but it’s one of those classes that you really should take, and our professor is great. It’s not that hard of a course, you just have to be sure to keep up with your readings. But that’s not hard because the assignments are pretty easy.
I have to say that Basic Real Estate has been my favorite course. But this is probably because I am selling my house in March so I am much more engaged. It has been going really well until we got to Title and Title Insurance. Title insurance is as confusing as “you know what”- but we’re working through it and I know that I’m not the only one having a hard time with it, so that’s a relief!
As for school events, BLSA had its annual Halloween party last Friday and it was a lot of fun. People came in some really great costumes, and our DJ was really good. Also last week, Derrick Bell was on campus on Wednesday and Thursday, which was hosted by the Loren Miller Bar Association. For those of you who may not know who Derrick Bell is (shame on you!), he is arguably the most influential source of critical thought in civil rights discourse. His writings examine the racial issues within the context of their economic and social and political dimensions from a legal standpoint. You should look him up and read one of his books.
As for the whole “job thing,” I find myself in a dilemma: either the LNI division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, or Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office. In both locations, I would get ample litigation experience, which is something that I really want. Both of these positions are for summer employment as a Rule 9 intern- which means I get to go to court by myself, and I would have the ability to continue on part time during my 3L year. My hope would be to receive an offer after I graduate (but this is everyone’s goal, so we shall see). I also have an externship beginning in January at the King County Prosecutor’s Office. Hopefully, by my next diary entry, I will be able to let you know which summer employment offer I have accepted.
Until next time, take care! If you are applying to SU Law, or are considering doing such and have questions, please feel free to contact me at: desjardinsd@seattleu.edu.
This year has started at full throttle! As soon as we got back to school in Fall, it seemed as though we never left. Especially for a 2L (I’m a 2L now!!), because we have OCI going on as well as other job fairs. OCI stands for On Campus Interviews, and can be pretty intense for some people. For OCI, there is a long list of employers, who all have different requirements and are looking for different things. You go through the list, select which ones you want to bid for, then add it to your bidding summary on the Lexis Nexis website. Then, you have to go to the SU website, and find out what materials they want and when their “drop date” is. A drop date is a date, usually a Monday, when you “drop” your application materials on the day they have selected. There are usually about 10-15 employers per drop date.
I have decided not to get too involved in OCI, because I really don’t need the added stress ? Instead, I applied for jobs through the North West Minority Job Fair, which this year was hosted at Williams Kastner. The job fair was this past Saturday, and I was there from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. It was a really long day. But my interviews went really well, so I am happy.
As the president of BLSA this year, I’ve spent a lot of time working on BLSA activities. Our executive board has been working on what activities we would like to host this year. There are certain events that we host every year, and we have added a couple of other events as well. On Saturday before last, we had our annual Welcome Reception at Professor McGee’s house, where we had students, faculty, and LMBA members who gathered together. It was a great way for new students to get to know other students and we had some good food!
As far as classes go, things have been going really well. I took Evidence this summer; it was nice to get that out of the way. So this semester I am taking Con Law, Admin Law, Legal Writing II, and Basic Real Estate. I really like Legal Writing II and Basic Real Estate. Legal Writing I, which you take in your first year, requires you to write objectively. But with Legal Writing II, you get to write persuasively, and we get to do oral arguments before our professor for the case we are working on. We did practice orals about a week ago and I had a good time. As for Basic Real Estate, I am taking it because I am going to be selling my house in March and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to have an understanding of the process. Con Law and Admin Law are kind of heavy courses; you have a lot of reading for each. But it’s completely do-able, as long as you keep up with the readings.
Well, this is it for this entry, and until next time!