UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – On Tuesday, Aug. 15, the Penn State Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) program welcomed the biggest class in its history to the University Park campus during orientation. The class includes 180 LL.M. students and 14 exchange students from 28 different countries, including Uzbekistan, Ghana, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Norway, Colombia, China, Peru, Nigeria, Thailand, Jordan, India, Sweden, Costa Rica, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Georgia and more.
“As a former international student, I enjoy seeing so many accomplished lawyers and scholars join us for a year of study and exploration each fall,” said Victor Romero, interim dean of Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs, Maureen B. Cavanaugh Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and professor of law. “I hope their J.D. (juris doctor) peers take full advantage of their presence as each cohort learns from the other.”
This fall semester, many of Penn State Law’s LL.M. students have journeyed far and wide to State College for its one-year program.
“These LL.M. students have backgrounds as lawyers, judges, NGO leaders, professors, new law school graduates and civil servants from their home countries, but when they arrive at Penn State Law, I greet them as ambassadors, because that’s exactly who they are: citizen ambassadors from all over the world,” said Stephen Barnes, assistant dean of graduate and international programs (GIP) at Penn State Law.
The Sutliff Auditorium in the Katz building filled up with new LL.M. students after checking in. Jud Mathews, associate dean for academic affairs, and Barnes welcomed the group to Penn State Law.
“Penn State Law has an impressive array of specialized fields to pick from which gives the autonomy to create an academic experience specific to your own interests,” said Ayodeji Oluwabusuyi, a new student who is a lawyer in his home country of Nigeria.
The morning was filled with informative sessions, including course registration with Kristin Hrehor, LL.M. academic adviser and director of Africa Programs; financial information Kim Wyatt, finance officer; must-know information technology session led by Matt Gardner, assistant dean for digital learning and information technology; and a library session led by Rebecca Mattson, head of faculty and research services and professor of legal research.
“Witnessing the new students infuse fresh energy every year is truly invigorating. It’s a pleasure to watch them grow throughout their time here and embark on their journeys toward the future,” said Jing Hu, director of GIP.
After lunch, the large group of students took two class pictures — one formal picture and another in regalia from their respective nations.
“Orientation was a long and productive day since we had a lot of information coming at once,” said LL.M. Colombian student Jorge Alvarez-Rodriguez, a recent graduate of Pontifica Universidad Javaeriana. “But the academic and logistic interventions by both faculty and university staff were very important to me because they made me feel like the university really cares about us getting off to a great start at Penn State Law.”
The students’ afternoon was filled with language support, student health insurance information, a Penn State Global document check-in. It capped off with a welcome picnic at Sunset Park just off campus, where Barnes, donning his trademark Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap, spoke with the students — many of whom he has a connection to going back as many as seven years in their home countries — about the Penn State Law family and their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C.