Meet Members of the Incoming Class of Rutgers Law School

Before casebooks opened and classes began at Rutgers Law School, the incoming class, some 160 first-year students from near and far, raised their right hands and repeated back to Thom H. Prol, president-elect of the New Jersey State Bar Association, during an orientation reception on Aug. 23, the Lawyer’s Pledge:

“In accepting the honor and responsibility of life in the profession of law, I will strive, as best I can: to work always with care, and with a whole heart and with good faith; to weigh my conflicting loyalties and guide my work with an eye to the good, acting less for myself than for justice and the people; to be at all times, even at personal sacrifice, a champion of fairness and due process, in court or not, for all persons, whether the powerful or envied, or my neighbors, or the helpless or the hated or the oppressed; and to serve, protect, foster and promote the fair and impartial administration of justice.”

With classes now a week underway, that inspiring oath is being put into action at Rutgers Law School.  Who are those eager to earn their legal degrees from Rutgers? This year’s incoming class represents 70 colleges and universities, everywhere from the University of Pennsylvania to the University of Nebraska. They hail from 20 states, with the largest contingent outside of New Jersey being California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Washington.

First-year Rutgers Law student Christopher Bustamante Osorio may call Washington State home, but he’s also no stranger to Camden.

Through the Law School Admission Council’s DiscoverLaw.org Prelaw Undergraduate Scholars (PLUS) programs, Chris spent two months at Rutgers both as a participant in this program, while an undergraduate at the University of Washington, and as an intern. The grant-funded program that took place from 2012-15 was run by Associate Dean for Pro Bono and Public Interest Jill Friedman and Associate Dean of Students and Diversity Affairs Angela Baker connected college students from racial and ethnic minority groups underrepresented in the legal profession with law schools through a four-week intensive immersion experience.

For Bustamante Osorio, this program cemented his confidence to enter into the realm of legal life as well as his comfort in Rutgers as a place to enrich his academic and professional pursuits.

“Deans Baker and Friedman accepted us as ourselves, but let us know that we are capable of handling life in law school,” he says. His desire to become a lawyer though was first born from his passion to represent communities that have been disenfranchised, including his own parents.

“The obstacles and difficulties my family went through emigrating from Colombia makes me want to make a difference,” says Bustamante Osorio, who also identifies as LGBT. “But I think what drove me to choose Rutgers is the environment. It feels like everyone here wants you to succeed and that’s something I didn’t really have before.”

The Classes of 2018 and 2019 also represent international students, like Clare Kealey from Dublin, Ireland. Kealey received her bachelor of laws from the University of Dublin-Trinity College and her master of law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. After living in Philadelphia for the past two years, she decided that a J.D. would give her more flexibility of what and where she could practice. With Rutgers being her third experience with a law school, it has quickly become one of her favorites.

“I automatically felt very supported here from the get-go. The support from Rutgers stood out from any other law school I’ve dealt with,” she says.

Kealey also notes the similarities between the Philadelphia area and her hometown of Dublin.

“I don’t drive, but there’s no need to here. Everything’s in the area to walk or bike and I never spend more than $15 on a cab in Philly. It reminds me of home.”

Not only does the incoming class represent areas from across the country, they also bring a wealth of experience and perspective. Many have been working for years – some in far-flung places like Asia and Africa – and are switching careers; some are veterans of our Armed Forces; and some come to law from unexpected professions, like photography.

Incoming student Magdalena Kernan says she grew up peeking out from underneath her mother’s robe while playing hide-and-seek in her courtroom, but Kernan saw great injustices in the world when working for the United Nations Development Program in Africa. Trained as a professional photographer, Kernan’s captured stunning images of all kinds, including most recently women surfers riding out powerful waves.

She says she decided on Rutgers for its name recognition and its people, from the faculty who wrote her compelling letters to enroll to the inspiring alumni she met worlds away.

“I visited Bolivia to do photography for an organization for child victims of sexual violence which, I discovered there, is run by two Rutgers Law grads who also teach a course in Camden on international human rights. From this, I was even more assured on the possibilities and potential of a law degree from Rutgers.”

The Classes of 2018 and 2019 are also comprised of both those who graduated recently from colleges and universities and those working towards or already having earned other advanced degrees, PhDs to MBAs.

First-year student Brandon Pugh, a graduate of the College of New Jersey, is also a Master Continuity Practitioner (MCP), which is the United States Department of Homeland Security’s highest discipline specific designation held by less than 300 professionals nationwide. Pugh has had a long interest in the law, beginning when at an early age he attended municipal court on a regular basis because he was fascinated by the proceedings. Now he brings with him into the learning community a wealth of experience as the youngest member to be elected at 19 to the Moorestown Board of Education, and president and CEO of the American Consulting and Training LLC, a homeland security company.

“I have always held Rutgers Law in high regard because I have seen the caliber of graduates firsthand, as several of my friends and colleagues are alumni,” he says. “The timing is perfect because I believe the merger with Rutgers Law-Newark will greatly expand upon the law school’s reputation, and will create new opportunities for students as one of the nation’s largest law schools.”

Co-dean John Oberdiek acknowledges the great talent of the incoming class and their unique journeys that brought them to Rutgers Law School. He also sees what unites them.

“Though they come from different walks of life, and have different backgrounds, each student here shares a common goal, which is to gain knowledge, know-how, and a degree that will open doors now closed to them,” says Oberdiek. “They join our community at an especially exciting time, as we advance legal education at Rutgers University under the banner of Rutgers Law School. I could not be more excited or optimistic about what our law school can do for our new students, our alumni, this state and region, and indeed for legal education on the national stage.”