The call of the law

The Call of the Law Published for Washington College website, June 25, 2013 Rebecca Sussman ’13 found her calling in Oceania as a secret member of the Thought Police. In the real world, she was a junior at Westfield High School, VA; in her AP English teacher’s classroom model of George Orwell’s 1984, Sussman was a clever ally for Big Brother. She cofounded an online resistance group and turned in any rebellious comrades who decided to join— her teacher was “horrified at what I was doing, but she was also proud of me,” she recalls.

“That was when I knew I had a passion for intellectual property and cyber law. Mrs. Van Trees pushed the class to dive into the murky waters of the importance of privacy in maintaining a republic.”

Sussman had her Washington College career mapped out from the very beginning: she wanted to study English, complete her degree in three years, and graduate with placement in a top-ranked law school. She signed up for the prelaw program as soon as possible and proceeded to accomplish all her goals—and more.

She took her first practice LSAT within the first few weeks of school and quickly realized all that the prelaw program has to offer. Along with her many other involvements, Sussman was one of the first students to join the Washington to Wall Street program, which introduces students to alumni and friends of the College who are established members of the financial services field.

“It provided me with priceless opportunities to speak with representatives from many corporations,” she says.

Her diverse involvement in campus activities—from working as a Resident Assistant to her involvement with the Honor Board to serving as president of Sigma Tau Delta English honor society—provided her with the tools she needed to pursue her post-graduation goals. This Fall 2013, Sussman will be attending Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, which is rated eighth in the country for public law schools and has an excellent intellectual property program.

“The most rewarding aspect of the pre-law program is the ability to work with faculty outside of my major to further explore how to best prepare myself for law school,” she says. “My plans are to graduate from law school and find a career that allows me to pursue my passion of practicing law. It is too soon to say exactly what I hope the future brings, but I know that Washington College’s pre-law program and the English Department prepared me to excel at any opportunity the future throws at me. I am very blessed to have been apart of such an outstanding program, and I hope one day to give back to the school that helped me to reach my goal of attending a top law school.”