When Reda Taleb (McLean Class, 2015) talks about “giving back,” she isn’t just reciting a slogan — she’s living by example. The daughter of immigrants from Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, Taleb’s parents, along with her six older siblings, laid roots in Dearborn’s south end, an area known for its pollution-emitting factory smoke stacks and community of Arab Americans seeking the “American Dream.”
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Arturo Alfaro came to law school in a very non-traditional way, as a Spanish language certified interpreter for the state of Michigan. His first assignments found him working in the Oakland County Circuit and District Courts.
#FromWhereIStand is an op-ed forum allowing a voice and stance for our Cooley community of family and friends. Law student Sarah E. Shirley (April 2020) writes about the requisite need for diversity in law school for a better world.
When Dinah Lynch applied to law schools, Cooley was her first choice. The decision was an easy one for her. She had looked at other schools in Michigan, but none offered classes that allowed her to work around her schedule. At Cooley, Lynch was able to start classes around 6:00 p.m., in their evening program, and keep her full-time job as well as all benefits. That was very important to her.
Sometimes you know exactly what you want to do as a career growing up, but most of the time you need to try things on for size. For Cooley Law School student Helen Khouli, law school wasn't the first shoe she tried on.
Cooley student Lanita Carter and her two sisters grew up in the Detroit area under the strong influence of her mother, their role model and inspiration. As a young girl of a single mom, Carter remembers always wanting to help the family. She wanted to make sure she was doing her part. So much so that she started working in the ninth grade.
When Rosston Lloyd Ramsey was born, his parents chose his name because they thought it sounded “judicial” and befitting of their hopes that he would someday be a judge. Today, as Ramsey prepares to graduate from Cooley Law School’s Auburn Hills campus, he is getting closer to fulfilling his parents’ desires.
Taking on the world is something Cooley Law School law student Ashley Hart is not afraid to do. In fact, it's in her blood. She not only feels the need to help others, she wants to make sure she is at the table in making policy decisions on their behalf.
Law school is a big commitment. So is being a parent. Ditto for a full-time job. But what happens when all three are combined in one woman’s world? That all depends on the woman.
Cooley law student Osinachi "Osi" Onukogu, events coordinator of the Grand Rapids Black Law Student Association (BLSA), feels her role in the organization is to bridge the gap between community and the law school by understanding and contributing to the community from which you live, even while in law school. Osi hails from her hometown of Newark, New Jersey. Find out below what Osi learned at the Taste of Soul event and why she is enlightened.
