杏吧视频

SBA President Sarah Cooper[/caption]

Sarah Cooper has mixed emotions about next month鈥檚 annual Commencement ceremony.

Cooper, the current Student Bar Association (SBA) president, will transition from law student to alumnae on Saturday, May 10.

In a recent interview, Cooper reflected on her three-year experience at 杏吧视频.

鈥淎ll of a sudden I’m a 3L,鈥� she said. 鈥淚’m graduating in less than a month. It went by fast. I wish I could go back. Since I’ve been so involved and since I’ve had so much fun in law school and becoming the best version of myself, if I had to do it all again, I would do it exactly the same way, but I would also 聽like to kind of stay in it for a little longer. I really enjoyed it that much. I enjoy the people, my professors, the faculty, the staff, classmates 鈥� I’ve met some of my best friends here.鈥�

Cooper said she enjoyed the 鈥渢ight knit鈥� community.

鈥淚 see it every day and it’s one of my favorite things about the school itself,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’re all super close. We all know each other, we’re all supporting each other, and it just makes it a wonderful place to go to school. I thrive in those kind of smaller settings.鈥�

A self-professed introvert, Cooper didn鈥檛 let it hold her back. From the moment she arrived on campus three years ago, Cooper dove into the community through student organizations, and later, internships, clinics and externships.

鈥淐oming my first day of orientation, I was so scared,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had no idea who anybody was — I was freaking out, honestly. One of the first people I meet — Jasmine Gleaton — we are still super good friends to this day. We are on SBA together. Just growing my network extremely was super beneficial.鈥�

Cooper joined a handful of student organizations, followed by an internship in the Judicial Observation Experience (JOE).

鈥淭hat was instrumental,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou get to spend two weeks of your summer with a judge. I sat with a family court judge in Lawrence County and that was just really cool. I met all of the attorneys and it was just an invaluable experience in, in seeing what goes on in a courtroom.鈥�

In Spring 2024, Cooper also participated in an internship and externship for the United States Coast Guard.

鈥淚 loved it so much that I stuck with them for a whole year,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow that is actually gonna be my job postgrad.鈥�

You start out 1L year and you’re getting a small portion of what the law itself is. As you continue to move through law school, you get more knowledge about what’s actually going on in the world of law. I can tell you, even outside of the classroom, take opportunities like clinics or externships, internships, to understand what the day-to-day life of a lawyer is. It’s not just getting up and arguing in front of a judge. You have to understand that there’s so much more behind the scenes that we don鈥檛 see until you get into practice and see it. — Sarah Cooper

She noted that Nick Sanders, Associate Dean of Students and Career Services, 鈥渄efinitely has been a great supporter of what I want to do, not only in law school, but also post-graduate. He’s always talking about my next moves. He’s excited for me and that means something. It inspires me to want to become the best version of myself.鈥�

“I would’ve never made that connection and gotten to where I am to be accepted for my job without the help from the professors,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he Open Door policy was instrumental in who I am now.鈥�