A FIRST-GENERATION STUDENT WANTS TO FIND HER PEOPLE AT LAW SCHOOL

#engagementstory

By MAX LEISTEN

Starting law school can be tough, especially for first-generation students trying to juggle personal goals with fitting into a new environment. An Elon University law student recently opened up about these challenges, admitting they feel disconnected and unsure how to find their people. They sought advice on building connections and navigating friendships in a place where others seem to have already settled.

We’re absolutely thrilled about the fantastic engagement from the Elon community in their first month with Protopia; it highlights the enthusiasm among students and alumni to connect and gain insights from one another. Elon’s Q&A platform offers a great opportunity to their community to tap into the knowledge of over 35,000 alumni for career advice and more. It’s inspiring to see how this resource is already creating a sense of community and support!

Keep it simple.

Max

The "ask"

Hello! I’m a 1L first generation student at Elon University School of Law with a background in healthcare and psychology.

I am having trouble finding people that I particularly “mesh” with and am not sure how to find my friends in this crowd. It seems like everyone else has found their groups already. I feel sort of lost. How did you remind yourself that you belonged here? How did you find your people?

Thank you in advance for your time and advice!

The "give" (1 of 5!)

Hi! Law school is such a weird time. People seem to be all different ages, coming from all over the country sometimes and while the structure can seem like college all over again, it’s definitely not. For me, I had a little easier time because I was an Elon undergrad and had that in common at the start to ease into talking.

The main thing that helped me though, was getting involved and just putting myself out there willing to fail. Joining the organizations gave me common ground with people that I could use as a stepping stone to get to know them. Studying together can also help sometimes, but I think it was the times I wasn’t trying that worked out the best.

I don’t know if they still have the parking lot that is several blocks from the school anymore. A lot of us used to park there and would end up walking in at the same time. After a few weeks, we started chatting while we walked, small talk etc., but it eventually led to getting to know them (side note: one of these people ended up being an usher in my wedding).

Overall, it’s really more about overcoming fear for me and just starting to talk to people. There were several people I just didn’t mesh with, but there were 2-3 I really connected with in our year including someone who actually became my husband before we graduated, and a few people who were in years after me.

At the end of the day, you’re not the only one, and you can’t “fail” at it until you give up.

You’re obviously intelligent with a spark that drives engagement or you wouldn’t be at Elon to begin with, so remind yourself that you are someone worth knowing and before you know it, someone is going to agree with you!

Ready to make it simple for everyone?

Let’s find a time for Max & team to show you just how smart, simple, and scalable it can truly be for alumni and students to connect to one another for advice and support. We promise you’ll be inspired by how artificial intelligence can be a force for good.

Protopia’s artificial intelligence technology makes it truly simple for everyone in your community to connect for advice and support. Without another app to sign up for or learn.

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