October 2007: Issue Three: Page 9
Ravenscroft: (continued...)
She is here, Professor Guruswamy tells me, because she wants us to critique her writing so that she can improve her writing skills. It took me a few seconds to process this announcement. Victoria was, as Professor Guruswamy explained, a 1L (i.e. first year law student)—a student firmly in the midst of all the intellectual frustrations and emotional anxieties that plague that most bewildering of years. Yet despite all that, and despite the fact that she was already taking a course in legal writing, she wanted to voluntarily invest her time into writing a piece that we would review and criticize, strictly for the purpose of becoming a better researcher and writer.
I was a little dubious. However, one month and several meetings later, I sat reading a 40 page report by Victoria providing a comprehensive and systematic account of every interdisciplinary center located at one of the top 50 law schools, along with thoughtful analysis of the extent to which these centers contribute to—in a variety of ways—the well-being of their parent organizations. This is how I came to meet Victoria. It was also the first of many times that she would amaze me with her enthusiasm, dedication, and intellectual acumen.
A native of Colorado, Victoria was born in Colorado Springs where her father served as an officer in the Air Force working at Peterson Air Force Base. In 2002 she graduated from Colorado State University with a B.A. in Performing Arts and an emphasis in Wildlife Biology. Following graduation from CSU, Victoria worked as a professional stage manager at the National Theatre Conservatory and at the Denver Center Theatre Company. “I loved the work because it was a constantly changing job, a new adventure every day. And I was good at organizing people and details and as acting as the hub for it all. But there was something missing,” she recalls. “It was not intellectually stimulating, so I chose to go into law and policy—to do something I couldn’t do as a wildlife biologist, which is change public policy.”
Following a brief stint working in a bankruptcy and collections law firm, Victoria returned to CSU for a year to do graduate work in political science, where she studied international environmental law and policy, international relations and economics, and Colorado politics. At the end of that year, she chose to attend Colorado Law. “I chose to become a lawyer, and not to get an M.A. or a Ph.D.,” she explains, “because I wanted the chance to work on changing policy directly. I wanted to get my hands dirty.”
Victoria has the singular distinction of being the very first 1L to be asked to join the EESI research team (following our receipt of her report on interdisciplinary centers at law schools, it was an easy choice to make). “What I like about EESI,” Victoria says, “is that the work is visionary. This is not a run-of-the-mill center doing run-of-the-mill things. I like the big ideas, making important things happen.”
“At a more tangible level,” she continues, “I like the people at EESI. We sit around a table and discuss everything from beer to nuclear fission. And even though we are not a student organization, we are also a student-based organization. Opinions are valued here, and there are not a lot of limitations.” Victoria is currently leading an EESI effort to develop curricular offerings in the area of energy law and policy, with a specific focus on climate change and sustainable development. “I think law should adapt to the needs of the community,” she reflects, “and these issues are crucially important right now—law should reflect that importance.”
Asked what she likes best about working with Professor Lakshman Guruswamy, Director of EESI, she quickly responds, “Lots of laughter. And it’s fun because in terms of ideas, it’s no-holds-barred. It’s also tough because EESI has higher standards than any other in the known universe, but that’s a good thing.”
I asked Victoria what she would say to incoming students as to why they might consider participating in EESI. Her response was typically rapid and unequivocal. “First,” she says, “I’d get the basic perks out of the way: you get better research skills, and have the opportunity to research things that no one else gets to research in the law school. You have the opportunity to publish and improve your writing. And then,” she continues, “I’d get to the real reason. At EESI we learn to be adept at viewing problems from all different sides, to open the box and really figure out a problem, to be creative, with integrity, and to truly understand the role of law from an interdisciplinary perspective. That skill is severely lacking in traditional legal education. And it’s a skill that you can see in people that come out of EESI.”
