I would appreciate an opportunity to attend your university to help fulfill my aspiration of becoming a eminent sports attorney. Growing up a native Houstonian, I have always been enamored with studying law at the University of Houston knowing of all the prestige it proudly displays. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, but I didn’t know exactly how I wanted to carve my niche in the legal world. When I was accepted into the University of Oklahoma, I was not aware of the tradition or prestige that the football team carried. Moreover, I had no idea about the honor it was to don the crimson and cream in the arena of athletics. And, I never envisioned rooming with them. I enjoyed sports, but I loved reading and writing more. Initially, I was focused on building a collegiate career that one day would propel me to my goal of studying law. Yet, the more time I spent interacting with the athletes, the more parallels I noticed between their personalities and mine. Their diligence, perseverance and compassion were all traits that I could identify with since they were reflective of me. For the most part, the majority of the athletes were hungry to achieve and they desired knowledge at all costs; a combination that still resonates with me today. As I became more involved with campus life, I couldn’t find a way to immerse myself in preparing for a career in law. While I knew why I wanted a law degree, I couldn’t conceptualize what I wanted to do with it. Prior to college life, my familiarity with the legal system was by way of internships with judges and lawyers. Clearly, that traditional route perked my interest but not my passion. Living with the athletes affirmed my interest in their culture. I began to immerse myself in subjects surro... ... middle of paper ... ...hat of how to apply law effectively. Now, I’m able to participate in casual conversations about sports, but I’m more interested in conversing about the structures of free agency, labor-related issues and the drafting and negotiation of contracts. Attending the University of Houston Law Center would afford me the opportunity to gain an education I know only they could offer. The University of Houston is a first-tier institution that constantly produces superior talent that continuously excels in all fields of law. Earning my degree of jurisprudence would be the crowning achievement in my life, but knowing that I couldn’t be able to use it effectively would be as equally disappointing. Coming full circle, I’d use my degree to make a difference for those privileged and those who aren’t alike. The realm of law is where I feel I belong and I’m eager to prove myself.
Not all colleges’ focus on ensuring that their athletes succeed both their respective sport and in their education. The University of Oklahoma (referred to as “OU”) demonstrates its commitment to success in the classroom and on the field, by providing students with the Sooner Housing Center. The Sooner Housing Center provides a family-like environment, which ensures OU athletes maintain a strong balance between academics and athletics by emphasizing the athlete’s educational achievements in addition to their sports accomplishments. Living in a focused community guides athletes in the right direction since performativity plays a large role in their lives.
Pappano, Laura. “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 591-600. 2013.
One-L, by Scott Turow, outlines the experience of attending Harvard Law School as a first year law-student. Turow weaves his experiences with those around him, and intertwines the professors of Harvard law, as well as their lectures. Initially, Turow enters Harvard law in a bit of disarray and awe. As a world of hornbooks, treatises, law-reviews, group studies, and legal terminology unfold beyond comprehension; Turow is confronted with the task of maintaining sanity. Time appears to be the most important variable, as Turow begins to study for contracts, torts, property, civil procedure, and criminal law; because time is so precious, one key-highlight for law-students is to balance family. Moreover, Turow is part of section-1, and two of his
Potuto, Josephine (Jo) R., and James O'Hanlon. "National Study Of Student-Athletes Regarding Their Experiences As College Students." College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 947-966. Humanities International Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
Professor David Mills teaches classes in Criminal Law and White-Collar Crime at Stanford Law School. He is the founder and was first director of the school’s renowned Clinical Education program that prepares students for the real-world challenges and responsibilities of a legal career. David Adjunct Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark and a lecturer at Santa Clara Law School.
"College Athletic Programs Undermine Academics." Student Life. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 27 July 2011.
“The Paper Chase” and “Legally Blonde” are two films that depict the legal education in popular legal culture. This concept refers to just about everything that individuals know or believe to know about law, lawyers, and the legal system (Asimon, 4). Both of these films try to provide viewers with what the actual law education is at a top rated university. There are numerous stereotypes about law school as well gender roles, which are recognized throughout both of these films. Often times, watching certain movies or television shows about law and lawyers can put legal issues or other labels in a different perspective.
The importance of doing pro bono work as part of legal education is something that law students should take into account, not only due to the benefits it provides, both in developing key legal skills within a real-life context and enhancing graduate employability, but also because its charitable nature gives them a sense of having “given back” to their community by aiding those who seek out legal advice.
College is a time for young people to develop and grow not only in their education, but social aspects as well. One of the biggest social scenes found around college campuses are athletic events, but where would these college sports be without their dedicated athletes? Student athletes get a lot of praise for their achievements on the field, but tend to disregard the work they accomplish in the classroom. Living in a college environment as a student athlete has a great deal of advantages as well as disadvantages that affect education and anti-intellectualism. Around the country, college athletic programs are pushing their athletes more and more every day.
Colleges demand a well-rounded resume that students are trying to fulfill so they can get accepted to the college or university they desire most. “We know schools and families are embedded in society and are responding to its changing requirements and demands, with respect to the competitiveness to the college admissions process, the kinds of skills needed to succeed in the workforce, and even uncertainties in the global economy” (NYU Study Examines), in a study, students from a big university admit to finding that students are becoming more stressed out because of college pressures while still in high school. Colleges are trying to find the students that can succeed in both academics and extracurricular activities. Once students get into college, student athletes can buy a book written by Carl I. Fertman appropriately titled Student Athlete Success – Meeting the Challenges of College Life, to help organize their priorities with their busy schedule. This is a work book that allows the college athletes relate to other college athletes that feel the same way they do. College has its own set of challenges that high school students usually do not face, so this book would help the students cope with these new challenges. In the first section, there is a heading that is labeled “What Student-Athletes Say” with a list of common quotes from student athletes themselves. For example “Sometimes I feel like student athletes have extra pressure and greater expectations placed on them than other students. Everyone knows who we are and people are looking at us to catch us doing something wrong”. (2), which shows how students that do participate in sports feel as though they have added pressure because they are so well known in most cases. Although they do commit to being more known than a regular student when they join a sports team, it is often not fair to the
Herbet D. Simans, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington focuses their argument on academic motivation of student athletes and what drives them to want to succeed in the classroom as well as on the court or field. Although Flynn also focuses on academic motivation of student athletes, he also discusses how colleges tend to spend more money on sports related necessities for the students instead of towards their education. Flynn’s argument displays how colleges are basically a business...
I truly hope that you will take my application into consideration for the Loyola University Maryland School of Education. Teaching and education is a passion of mine and I feel that this graduate program will help me hone my skills to become a well-rounded and effective educator. I bring to the table experience in academic research and applied experience as an employee of the Harford County Public Schools.
Are colleges doing enough to prepare student-athletes to be successful in life? Are students benefitting or are universities exploiting? Colleges are monetarily thriving from the talents of athletes. A numerous amount of these athletes are only recruited for their physical talents and many of them are not academically up to par. Although academic institutions claim to procure means to aid athletes in the classroom, there are still vast conundrums plaguing society concerning the miseducation of these individuals.
(2001, February). So you think you want to be a lawyer. Teen People, p. 45.
A very controversial issue in college athletics today is whether student athlete's academic goals or athletic events should be placed in higher importance. In our society today, many people people tend to think of highly renowned college athletes as athletes that dedicate all their time to the sport that they play. What many people tend to forget is that these college athletes have as large a responsibility in the classroom as they do playing football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field, or whatever sport it is that they play. These student athletes are required to practice for many hours each week in addition to having to complete hours of homework and research papers that they may have. Some people may think that being a collegiate athlete would be a fun and easy task but however, they are wrong. Regular college students receive enough homework and papers to do. Imagine having to complete all of the homework that all non- student athletes have to complete in addition to the time consuming dedication to a sports team. This is the stressful and challenging life of a collegiate student athlete.