Ryan Stevens (BU '18), right, attends a Notre Dame football game with fellow law students.
Ryan Stevens, a 2018 Bellarmine University graduate and first-year law student at Notre Dame, will visit Bellarmine on Thursday, October 18, to talk about his law school experience.
"Ask a law student" is open to all undergraduate students and is sponsored by the Pre-Law Society. Students can
RSVP to the event on Engage. The event is at 11 a.m.
Stevens plans to talk about four general topics:
- Why go to law school?
- How to get into law school
- Where to go for law school
- What is law school like?
Out of all the topics students could ask about, Stevens hopes to help them understand one thing in particular. He said: “I want them to know that it is completely okay if they don’t know what type of law they want to go into. But, they need to determine
why they want to go to law school to stay motivated.”
A law student’s difficulty begins with hours worth of reading, said Stevens. “The most difficult aspect is keeping myself motivated," he said. "Reading the logic behind the law is fascinating, but I also read about 150 pages a day. Without quizzes and exams, both my friends and I have had to remind ourselves why we’re here.”
He enjoys reading like a lawyer, but says he has not ever read this much for a class in his life. “Law school has easily been the most academically challenging and rewarding aspect of my life so far,” Stevens said.
Stevens said Bellarmine prepared him for law school by requiring him to read, write and think analytically. He said Bellarmine also connected him to a legal internship, which allowed him to receive relevant experience from different law firms as an undergraduate student.
Although he didn’t expect to become friends with strangers so fast, he said he has quickly adapted to Notre Dame’s culture. One of his favorite experiences so far has been “going to football games with my peers," he said.
“I’m excited to come back to Bellarmine," said Stevens. "If I can make this a less stressful process for one student, then this will be a success!”
Article by Molly Jett, intern in Bellarmine's Office of Communications & Public Affairs.
