USC Law has long prided itself on fostering a collegial rather than competitive environment for students as they undertake the rigorous training to become lawyers.
This past year, USC Law’s Office of Student Services strengthened its orientation program to facilitate the transition to life in law school and taking those important first steps as a professional.
“Students have expectations of what law school is going to be like,” says Liam Gillen, associate director of financial aid and student affairs. “In addition to the common anxieties associated with beginning a professional program, some students may also feel uneasy and worried about the social aspects. Living in a new city, making new friends and starting a new chapter in one’s life can be a very challenging experience. It is important that new students feel part of our community and make personal connections with their peers early on so that once classes begin their focus can shift more to their academics.”
With this sensibility as a point of reference, Dean of Students Gabriela Ryan ’04 and her staff re-evaluated the law school’s orientation program Gillen also surveyed how other top law schools conduct orientation and attended a conference focused on the orientation experience.
“Studies show that student engagement and activities translate into success; if you’re not engaged in the school, you’re detached from it,” says Gillen. “If you’re detached, you may not perform as well academically.”
Linda Bassett Puertas, a 2006 UCLA School of Law alumna, joined the office as director of academic support and student affairs last year and brought another perspective to the project.
“As a new law school student, I received information about the administrative tasks I needed to complete over the summer so that when I arrived for orientation, I could focus on meeting classmates and faculty,” she says. “In re-vamping our orientation, one of our goals was to move away from those tasks and allow students to focus on building the community spirit USC is known for.”
Student surveys revealed three clear requests: more faculty interaction; more community-building activities; and more time with the entire incoming class.
Ryan says that several comments repeated in student surveys rang true for her introduction to USC Law in 2001.
“I had never lived in L.A. prior to coming to USC,” she says. “Many students cited that their orientation didn’t involve any activities in the city. Another comment was that students wanted to feel like part of a bigger whole before classes started.”
That meant designing more activities in which students could engage with each other – on campus and off.
Peer Mentors
The peer mentor program, in place under various titles over the past years, underwent a major overhaul under Gillen’s direction last year; he tweaked it a bit more for the Class of 2012.
“Effective mentoring can only happen if it’s a trusted relationship and the mentor is extremely committed,” says Gillen. “The first-year students need a real connection with their mentor.”
To re-focus the program on developing long-term peer mentor relationships, Gillen developed a set of programmatic goals by which peer mentors could understand the objectives and fully engage in their responsibilities. This year, 65 members from the Class of 2011 applied for the 24 mentor spots available; two mentors for each section of 17 to 20 students.
Ramon Ramirez ’11 was eager to sign on.
“I wanted to be a peer mentor because my own peer mentor was great last year,” says Ramirez. “She was a great resource and I still ask questions of her. That, along with the supportive family atmosphere of USC, makes you want to get involved and return the favor. Being a law student here comes with the responsibility of carrying on USC’s tradition of a supportive family atmosphere.”
Orientation 2009
This year’s revised orientation program consisted of four days, with one full day for off-campus activities.
“We saw ‘Day One’ as the first day of their legal careers, not just the first day of orientation,” says Ryan.
To that end, new students were asked to dress in business casual attire and participate in an opening convocation. Justice Candace Cooper ’73 spoke to the class in a morning session and delivered an oath that committed students to uphold the highest standards of academic honesty and ethical practice throughout their years of legal study, as well as their careers.
The new class met their peer mentors for lunch on the law school lawn. Over sandwiches each section’s mentor team worked with their students to “break the ice” and to get the new students to relax.
The activities on Day Two were designed to cover the “student experience” and included library and campus tours as well as a panel discussion with current and former students providing perspectives on what to expect as a first-year student, including participating in student organizations, managing stress and balancing one’s academic and personal life.”
By the second day, peer mentors began to get the kinds of questions they were familiar with – having asked them themselves just 12 short months ago. Alison Gomer ’11 found practice tests and outlines on many of her mentees’ minds.
“I told them it’s okay if you haven’t thought about preparing for your practice exams before your first day of classes,” she says with a laugh. “The first year is very stressful, but the right kind of support can make it less so.”
The third day of orientation was orchestrated to provide a taste of what Los Angeles has to offer, in venues that encouraged interaction amongst all students.
The morning began with a service project organized with the nonprofit organization, The Surfrider Foundation. After a presentation regarding the impact trash has on the local marine life, nearly 200 students convened on Venice Beach to scour the sand.
“These clean-ups provide a social network of environmentally conscious people,” says Surfrider volunteer Sekita Grant ’08. “Because the beaches are so important to Californians, it’s important to teach people what they need to do to take care of them.”
After collecting several 30-gallon bags filled with debris, they wandered among the eateries, shops and sights along the famed boardwalk.
Says Gillen, “The aspect of ‘community’ was one of the biggest things we wanted new students to feel instantly. It was important to us to find an off-campus activity that would allow them to take pride in the city they live in as well as give them a forum to informally interact with classmates, faculty and staff.”
That evening the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the Chicago Cubs and 233 new J.D. and foreign LL.M. students convened in the right field grandstand. It wasn’t the game they came to watch as much as enjoy a cold beer, hot dog and chat with the dean and each other as the sun slipped into the Pacific, the lights of Los Angeles giving them an expansive view of their new home.
The last day of orientation was designed to gear students for their first day of school. Ryan and Puertas set up five faculty presentations, from which students could choose one. The five provocative topics culled from current events allowed students to hear from and engage with faculty on their topics of expertise.
Associate Dean Robert Saltzman has overseen Student Services for 21 years and witnessed the evolution of USC Law’s orientation program. While he notes that it’s important to introduce new students to the culture and diversity of USC Law – which many consider the school’s biggest strength – he believes the orientation experience reassures incoming students about what will actually go on during their first year of law school.
“They are familiar with negative portrayals from movies and on television,” says Saltzman. “As a result, some of the incoming students are unnecessarily anxious. By taking time in orientation to allow the students to learn from their faculty and other students, we help them be better prepared for the actual experiences they will have beginning the following week.”
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