Saturday, November 12, 2011

Club day, 2011 Orientation

Returning law students Nadia Marotta, Catherine Marchant and Helen Cox encourage students to sign up for the Peer Mentorship Program on Club Day. 

(Sept. 12, 2011) New JD students have started law school at UofT, after a week-long orientation of getting to know classmates, including the do's and don'ts of law school, the best places to eat and relax on and off campus, and student life beyond law school.

It's a lot to digest in the first year, says 2L Catherine Marchant. That's why she's part of the Peer Mentorship Program (PMP), which matches first-year students will returning students willing to share their experiences. She promoted its benefits during Club Day.

"Law school can be a very difficult and isolating place, especially in first year. You don't know all the random procedural things, and you're very focused on your readings," said Marchant. "We really want to give the first-years a connection with someone who can guide them through some of that, and help them feel there's a community here."

Nadia Marotta is also on the PMP executive, after participating as a 1L last year. "It definitely opened up doors to new connections with other students, that I wouldn't have met otherwise. That was the most valuable."

New connections are something our first cohort of GPLLM students will be making, as they start the new executive LLM program at the Faculty of Law. The inaugural group of 26 from various professions are hitting the books, gaining insights on international business law.

They join about 90 graduate students, who are also filling the hallways and jostling for bike space at the law school. 

The Faculty of Law welcomes the Class of 2014 and all returning law students for another great year at Uof T Law!