I will start my first blog entry by saying how fortunate I feel to be part of such an amazing scholarship program. Thank you to everyone at CAPE for the support and encouragement over the past few months.

Second Year of Law School (often referred to as 2L) has been drastically different from First Year in many ways. Instead of walking into the Law School with fear and uncertainty, I entered 2L with more confidence and experience, yet the fear still lingers. The main difference is that I am now in control of the path I will take from this point on, as opposed to First Year when all classes are mandatory. The majority of the classes I selected are in the area of Criminal and Family Law.

This year I decided to join Pro Bono Students Canada (Dalhousie), a national student movement that is active in every Law School across the country. Every year hundreds of students contribute thousands of volunteer hours per week to benefit their community. This year I was paired with a non-profit public interest organization called Family SOS, a great local organization that provides a number of programs and services directed toward strengthening families.

I have also committed to another unofficial pro bono project assisting ISIS (Immigration Settlement and Integration Services) initiate a Rainbow Refugee Committee, a community group that supports and advocates for people seeking refugee protection because of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status. I am extremely excited about both of these projects.

Although 2L has its perks (choosing your own schedule) it also comes with its fair share of stresses, one of those being the long process of seeking second year summer job positions. After a rigorous on campus and in firm interview process, I was fortunate enough to be offered a position with Legal Aid Ontario Duty Counsel, a position I gladly accepted. Moving to a bigger city like Toronto and working with Legal Aid Ontario will not only give me the experience needed to become a great lawyer, but will also allow me to continue to commit myself to other social justice endeavors.

At this point I am nearing the halfway mark of my law school career and I consider myself very lucky to attend a university and have access to great organizations, such as CAPE, that foster my interest and support my career goals.