Jeffrey Stiles ‘22
Where are you from?
I was born in Peru and spent 10 years there, but in America I’m from near Gettysburg, PA.
What did you do before Law School?
I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Western Samoa after graduating college, but during the several-month gap between that and Law School I worked in a cardboard box factory.
What inspired you to do that?
I worked in some factories during breaks in college (mostly chip and pretzel factories) and really appreciated the perspective it provided. I wanted one last grounding experience in blue collar labor before starting Law School—it certainly did not disappoint. If you ever talk to me in person, this is your warning that bringing up boxes and the cardboard converting industry will get me going on a fifteen-minute monologue about the womb of capitalism.
When did you start thinking about law school?
I took a law course on international protection of human rights while studying abroad in Barcelona that really excited me. The actual material of the course itself was pretty cool, but I really loved my classmates and the way they thought.
What’s something you know now that you would tell yourself coming into law school?
It is okay to know nothing and look stupid. That’s probably how everyone actually feels anyways.
What kind of impact do you hope to have as a lawyer?
I hope I never forget that there are always actual people involved and impacted by the work we do—I hope their encounters with me help them see their inherent value and dignity.
Let’s do a lightning round!
Favorite food?
Picante de Choclo.
Favorite place in Charlottesville?
Not a specific place, but riding my scooter on the roads that meander through the horse farms.
Anti-Stress Hobby?
Dance-llipticaling (dancing on an elliptical).
Pet peeve?
Multiple long dissents that functionally say the same thing.
Favorite word?
Tort (shouted when something less than reasonable is being done).
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Barcelona—the public transportation system is divine and the city is marvelous.
What’s one movie that left an impression on you?
Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
If you won the lottery, what would you do with it?
After funding a 401(k), I would buy a huge swath of land and sow native wildflowers.
If you could pick one song to play in the background of your life, what would it be?
Donovan’s “Break it Down” aka the song that stole Britney’s “Crazy” (See generally, anyone in Buck’s LRW class).
What is your least favorite sound?
Nicholas Cage’s Voice.
What animal are you most like?
An otter.
Where’s a place you’ve never been, but would like to go?
The Moon.
What are the Seven Wonders of the Law School?
(1) Professor Rutherglen on an exercise bike,
(2) Professor Geis saying “I think that’s right,”
(3) the altars of sustenance (the free food table and Student Affairs),
(4) the neo-classical brutalist architectural style,
(5) the two painted portraits of women I have found,
(6) the water-bottle fill up stations that actually dispense water rapidly, and
(7) the numbering system of Slaughter
If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be?
We would sing “The Good Old Song” before every final.
___
jps6xb@virginia.edu