What is your job/position?
Law Clerk/Associate Attorney
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
I chose to attend law school after studying abroad in China during my undergraduate degree. This experience, coupled with a religious history seminar offered as part of the American Studies program, piqued my interest in law and put me in a position to meet key people who would guide me through my law school experience. One key person was the professor of the religious history seminar. He was also an associate director of BYU Law's International Center for Law and Religious Studies and introduced me to other faculty at the law school who answered my questions and helped me through the process of applying. The flexibility of the American Studies program allowed me to pick classes just like the 6-person religious history seminar where I met people who helped jump-start my graduate education and career.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
Learning to write clearly and concisely has been a huge help in my law career. If you can't communicate your ideas, they aren't worth much. Additionally, my research-intense background obtained through my American Studies degree has been a distinguishing part of my professional reputation.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
My obscure knowledge of the Twilight Zone (the subject of my American Studies capstone class) was what hooked my now-husband on our first date. Thank you, American Studies!
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
I lovingly called my American Studies major the "Lego major" because it is so customizable. Because it's so customizable and unique from other tracked majors, I would encourage American Studies students to keep graduate school in their peripheral vision when considering future plans in order to narrow your field of expertise and experience. American Studies was an excellent stepping stone into my law degree because of how varied an education I had.