Assistance Helps During Important Time at Moritz

John Biancamano '09, George W. Stuhldreher Award Recipient

December, 2009

By John Biancamano

I first thought about going to law school at about the same time in high school that I decided I wanted to major in biology in college. Needless to say, I had some more thinking to do in order to reconcile these two very different paths. As it turned out, both were good decisions.

I enjoyed biology because it is rational and it promises to explain things about humans, and life generally, that we don't yet know. I began to look at law school more seriously after taking a class on civil rights during my senior year in which I saw how the law affects real people in very personal ways. At this time I began to understand an important difference between science and the law. While logic plays a very large role in the law, which can make it seem scientific, at the end of the day the law cannot be reduced to a set of mathematical rules. Our fundamental liberties are only developed and maintained using the very unscientific tools of language, social and legal standards, and historical research. Although fundamental scientific principles, such as the laws of physics, remain constant over time, our notions of liberty and equality are constantly changing.

With these thoughts pushing me towards law school, I decided to take a couple years off after college, so I moved to Atlanta and spent a year in an AmeriCorps program and a second working as an assistant in a law firm. Though in many ways these two experiences were very different, together they solidified my decision to apply to law school. They exposed me to the nuts and bolts of both why the law matters and how the law works.

Having grown up in Columbus, Ohio State was a natural place for me to begin my law school search. Yet the more I learned about the Moritz faculty, the clinical programs, and the overall experience students had at the school, the more it seemed clear that Ohio State was also the right place for me. Now that I=ve graduated, I am certain it was. Many of the professors at the school had a huge impact on my education, not just in the details of what they taught, but in their enthusiasm. The opportunities for internships and clinical programs provided me with great practical experiences.

During my third year I also received some very welcome assistance when I was named the recipient of the George W. Stuhldreher Award for work that I did on the Ohio State Law Journal. By my third year, of course, I had begun to realize just how large the financial burden of law school might be, but this award helped ease that burden so I could focus on my last set of exams and the bar. The help I received through this award fund could not have come at a more important time in my education. I am very thankful for it.

Although I=m now only a few months out of law school, and certainly not missing taking final exams, I am looking forward to remaining a part of the Moritz community. I hope to be able to assist future students in having the same incredible experience at this school as I did myself.