BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Emma Strenski, USA: I am training to be an international lawyer! (Part 2/4)

1) You mentioned that you will graduate in December 2022 with a Master of Arts in Russian and Eastern European Area Studies and Juris Doctor (Law Degree). How do you combine these two studies? Is it challenging to study these two different areas simultaneously?

a) I am training to be an international lawyer, so it is actually pretty easy to study these areas together! I have been able to write about and study the Balkans in my international law classes. For example, in my International Law class on the law of the seas, (maritime law) I studied about and wrote my final paper on the maritime dispute between Croatia and Slovenia in the Bay of Piran in the Adriatic. I also compared ethnic/religious conflicts in Ukraine and Bosnia, for my Ukrainian History class. In my other international law class, violence against civilians in warfare, I wrote about the international response, or lack thereof, to the war crimes being committed in Bosnia during the war in the 1990s, including Srebrenica. So I have been able to combine the two degrees pretty well, which is nice!

b) A hard part is that the law degree and classes therein are a lot more difficult and the program is a lot more stressful than the master's degree and classes. Law school in America is incredibly cutthroat and is very very competitive. We are graded on a curve and are graded against our classmates. We also have a class rank and are ranked against our classmates and the GPA and class rank are very important to get jobs in the job market. So, classes in law school have a lot more at stake. Especially because we are only graded on a final exam at the end of the semester. We have a three or four-hour exam at the end of the semester and that exam makes up the entire grade in the class, which means final exams are incredibly important and therefore, also incredibly stressful. the Master’s classes, on the other hand, are not nearly as hard or stressful. As I am now finishing my Master’s year, I am going back to law classes in the fall and the transition is going to be rough because the academic rigor is going to ramp back up and I am going to have to mentally and physically prepare myself.

c) I, like many of my grad school colleagues worldwide, was not prepared to go to grad school online, in the middle of a pandemic. I started law school in fall 2019, and my first spring semester, spring 2020, was pushed online because of COVID and I have been online ever since. I definitely did not go to grad school to go online, and it is very very very difficult to learn online. Motivation is low, it is very isolating, I have not been able to meet many of my Master’s classmates in person because I have never met them in person. If I had to do it again, knowing I would be going to the majority of my school online, I probably would not have gone to grad school at all. As I am already in it, I will definitely finish the program and will do my best to do it to the best of my effort.

2) Do you have some advice for others who would like to combine their interests in different areas in University? Some tips and tricks on how to accomplish that successfully?

a) My advice would be to reach out to the leaders of each degree or interests you have at the program. Facebook is always a good place to look. It will likely be more difficult during the pandemic, but if you get on some email lists, you should be able to figure out when the virtual events are happening so you can attend from zoom of some similar virtual event platform.

b) You should also try to take classes in the subjects you are interested in, preferably in the same semester, so you can have the chance to learn about your different interests at the same time.

3) You, also, mentioned in the previous interview that your free time is sparse. How do you actually organize your time for studying, personal and social life? How do you manage all of your activities?

a) I keep a planner with all my dates and plans in it. It is split up into half-hour increments, so I split up my days by half-hour. I try to take some time every day to work out, walk, and relax. Usually around two hours a day during the semester. I am looking forward to the summer because all of my evenings will be filled with free time to watch TV, work out, read, listen to audiobooks, and have time to relax.

b) During the school year, I also like to relax by meeting with my friends and classmates over the weekend for happy hours and casual drinking. I also like to get carry-out with my boyfriend, going for hikes and drives in his car, and sleeping in. I really don’t have a lot of time outside of school, so my favorite thing to do when I have time is sleep. It’s not very exciting but it’s the little things that make me happy to make the most of it.

CONTACT EMMA:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/estrensk/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/emma.strenski LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-delaney-strenski-797946148/

Previous parts of  Emma's interview:

Interview PART 1/4: https://bellspiration.blogspot.com/2021/05/bellspiration-club-emma-strenski-usa-i.html

BELLSPIRATION: https://bellspiration.blogspot.com/