“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou
Not a week goes by without my hearing positive stories and messages about our law school. Below are three powerful messages I want to share.
The first message is from one of our distinguished alumni, Matthew Crawford '94, who used his law degree in a non-traditional way to achieve great success in business.
“Truthfully, if there was not a Cleveland Marshall School of Law I would not have traveled down the law school road at all. Geographically, financially, and once engaged, the value that one receives on a semester basis, kept me committed to graduation and the Bar, even when I knew the whole three years that I would not practice in the traditional way…
It has given me two very valuable assets: first, a foundation, and then wings…The Employment Law Clinic, with its real life clients and real life outcomes, provided me a sense of the importance of each individual in the workplace. Today, our Company has 6000+ associates and I reflect on lessons from the Clinic all the time…my law school foundation gave me wings that I could then use to soar.”
- Matthew Crawford '94 ,Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, ParkOhio, accepting the 2018 Alumni of the Year Award from the Cleveland-Marshall Alumni Association
The second message was sent to me this summer from one of our 1L students about why he chose Cleveland-Marshall over other law schools.
“Dean Fisher- I am writing this e-mail because last Friday I was blessed to receive a very competitive offer from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Case was an attractive school for me to attend, and like the University of Cincinnati, had a very real chance of receiving my acceptance letter and deposit. I will be declining that hefty offer to a well ranked school, as well as every other. Let me tell you why.
Throughout the last few weeks, I have been absolutely stunned by the dedication, warmth, success, perseverance, amicability, professional legacies, and frankly the student-centered attitudes of each and every faculty member I have had the pleasure to meet in person. The events absolutely wooed me, and I am confident they did the same with each and every student who had the pleasure of attending. No other law school did anything similar. More than anybody attending, I would know, as I attended each and every one.
Through these events, I felt like I was already part of the student body, and that walking into the first day of contracts with Professor Borden would be the natural continuation of my educational career. Without the events, the e-mails, the Monday Morning Messages, and the personal phone calls, I am almost certain that I would be attending a different law school, most likely Case Law. Today, I would not forgo Cleveland-Marshall to attend Case, or any other law school for that matter, even if they paid full scholarship and added a living stipend.
Consequently, I made my final decision to attend Cleveland-Marshall, due in-large to the special effort you and your faculty have placed into connecting with me. In short, I would like you to know that your staunch efforts have been a wonderful success.” -1L Student
The third message is from one of our 2L students who recently had a medical emergency in our building, and how her classmates and professors responded.
Dean Fisher - I am sure you heard of my unfortunate medical emergency from this morning…. During this emergency, I experienced a seizure-like episode and collapsed. When I came to, there were multiple women making sure I was okay….
Professor Carolyn Broering-Jacobs had already emailed my two other professors informing them I would be missing class….The amount of texts I received from people at school asking if I was okay, if I needed anything, or if I wanted class notes, was astronomical and truly touching….Never, in my short life, have I ever been so touched. This is a community that cares. And the caring is not a fake-polite care; it is one of deep concern and worry. So many people went out of their way to take care of someone they barely know or only know as a “law school friend.”
Truly, it brought a tear to my eye when I started thinking about all the people in my life who care for me and how I realized that at my law school I have a family, not just classmates… This is why I chose CMLAW. Because in my moment of need, I did not have just a friend or two helping me, I had an army of colleagues and classmates making sure I came out of it okay and safe… – 2L Student
Have a great day…Have a great week.
My best,
Lee
For copies of past messages, please go to this link: Monday Morning Messages.
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My views in all my Monday Morning Messages are my personal views alone and do not reflect the views of our Law School or our University.