Why did you come to UVA Law and what are your plans post-grad?
Well, I grew up in Virginia—in fact, I’m from Blacksburg, the home of Virginia Tech! I did my undergrad at William & Mary, where I was a double major in International Relations and French. My sophomore year, I took a class on international law, which presented some fascinating questions: What is law? How do laws shape our philosophy of the world? I wanted to explore those questions and to make a positive difference in people’s lives through what I had learned. My older sister went to UVA for undergrad, so I’d visited Main Grounds with her a few times, and she always spoke very highly of Charlottesville and of the UVA community. As I looked more into it, I found that UVA Law was exactly where I wanted to be.
After graduation (and the Bar!), I’m going to be working at a plaintiff’s class action litigation firm in Prairie Village, Kansas near Kansas City! I had a wonderful 2L summer there, and I’m excited to be going back!
Any favorite memories from law school/what will you miss the most when graduating?
I’ll definitely miss my 1L section–shoutout to Section A! Some of my favorite memories are all the fun get-togethers we’ve had over the years. We had an end-of-year’s “Oscars” after the first year, where I won the award for Best Fun Facts! I now keep the mini-Oscar trophy on my desk next to my pencil holder. I’ll also miss the fun and fascinating classes I have taken; some personal favorites were Roman Law and Hallmarks of Distinguished Advocacy. Most of all, I’ll miss seeing all of my friends in person every day.
What would you consider your Law Weekly legacy? Any advice for future production editors?
You mean besides introducing the Law Weekly staff to my impeccable taste in music at every meeting? Well, the job of the Production Editor (besides controlling the Spotify) is to put the paper together. From a strictly technical sense, I could say my legacy is my eye for kerning.
In a more personal sense, I consider my legacy to be those times that people enjoyed my work, when it made their day a little brighter or taught them something new. My fall semester of 1L, I drew a cartoon of a cow in a suit holding a gavel in its mouth, with the caption “Mooooooot Court.” I remember seeing someone in ScoCo reading the paper, pointing it out to their friend, and having a laugh. That’s something that’s really stayed with me.
As for future production editors, proficiency with InDesign will come with time and practice. Images should fully fill the columns and align with the top of the text; otherwise, text-wrapping is a nightmare. Beware: InDesign has no spell check. Use your powers of Spotify wisely.
What did you do for spring break?
I spent the week up in Northern Virginia with my family! While there, we went to a special exhibit called “The Future of Orchids: Conservation and Collaboration” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Overall, it’s been a fun, relaxing time with loved ones.
Lightning round: Most recent Netflix (or other) binge?
This isn’t quite “binging,” but I’m into a podcast called Terrible Lizards. It’s all about dinosaurs and covers everything from deep dives on individual species to dinosaur behavior and insight into the field of paleontology. It’s great to listen to on long drives.
Favorite pizza place?
The Law Weekly office on Monday afternoons.
Music while studying or silence? If music, what songs?
Typically, I prefer to work in silence or to pure instrumentals. My go-to study music for a while was Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. I’m also a fan of waltzes and of John Powell’s score from How to Train Your Dragon. I’ve recently been listening to playlists of fantasy/adventure Medieval-esque music.
Lastly, is there anything about you that UVA Law students don’t already know that you wish to share?
I took mechanical drafting for two years when I was in high school, where I learned to create technical drawings of machine parts and tools both by hand and using computer software. I took the official exam and got my mechanical drafter’s certification when I was a junior, though it’s expired now. It’s not a universe away from what I do now with the Law Weekly, though prior to becoming production editor, the last time I had used InDesign was as a high school freshman. I guess you can say . . . graphic design is my passion.
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Interviewed by Mark Graff ‘26