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| Nicole Tutrani, 2L |
A. I was born and raised on Long Island, but I moved to Connecticut when I was 16 and graduated high school from there.
Q. What does becoming a lawyer mean to you?
A. In all honesty, I am not looking to become a lawyer in the traditional sense. It didn't take long for me to realize it wasn't exactly my calling. For me, getting my J.D. means an opportunity to serve the cause of justice and help the oppressed. I know, I know that sounds like what every Regent student says, but I am truly looking to enter into the criminal justice field so that I might serve others by seeking justice and working to restore those who are broken in spirit.
Q. How did you spend your summer?
A. Through a grant provided by the Center for Global Justice I interned for an organization in Baltimore called The Samaritan Woman, a restoration home for victims of human trafficking. I was initially charted with writing a five-year legislative plan for amending the Maryland Code as it relates to human trafficking to a more victim-oriented model.
Q. What do you wish you knew before you started law school?
A. Probably that I did not want to be a lawyer. Just kidding, sort of. I wish I had known that not everyone in law school was looking to become a prosecutor. Sure I can handle the Atticus Finches of the world, but it has taken me some time to realize that being a lawyer means being an advocate for a client at one of the more difficult times in his or her life, and not trying to help the local prosecutor convict him. I'm still working on that one.
Q. What surprised you most about Regent?
A. I came here for undergrad and pretty much lived in Robertson Hall back then, so not a lot surprised me about the University in general. I was surprised, however, at how quickly I made connections with my fellow classmates when I started law school, and at how familial an environment it was. It has been a real blessing.
Q. How is law school different from your college experience?
A. More tears. I was a government major in undergrad here at Regent, so my environmental experience hasn’t been much different, but the workload certainly has. Generally, it’s very different when you are surrounded by a group of peers who have chosen to further their degrees in this particularly difficult field. In a way, this is opposed to a certain percentage of undergraduate students who feel obligated to achieve that first degree, but weren’t looking to go any further. I suppose I mean that there is a bit more motivation to succeed among the students in law school.
Q. What is your favorite class so far and why?
A. Well, I haven't particularly liked school since I was 6 and the nurse had to call my parents and tell them I needed to stop trying to get them to send me home. That being said, I have only taken my required classes thus far, and considering I am somewhat adverse to actual lawyering I haven't had a “favorite.” I did, however, very much enjoy Christian Foundations with Dean Brauch my first semester. The Queen vs. Dudley and Stevens will forever be my favorite case.
Q. What kind of law do you hope to practice after graduation?
A. Hopefully no law at all! I wish I was kidding. If anything, I would like to advocate for victims of domestic violence or human trafficking and perhaps take up prosecutions within those fields.
Q. How would you describe the group of your closest friends found here at Regent?
A. I must say that the friendships I have made here are some of the closest I have ever had. They are the kind of people who I know I will remain friends with for a lifetime. They have put up with me for this long, and are diligently trying to convince me I need to take a Bar Exam, so I know they are keepers. I would like to thank them for making this (visualize arms waving in a general circular motion) experience a positive one.
Q. How do you prefer to study?
A. I would prefer not to study, but I do so none-the-less. I have a fantastic study group (Woo Ben-Henry) that attempts to keep me focused, and we work hard on the classes we take together. I am also a flash-card person as opposed to an outline person. If I think it is pertinent to the topic at hand, it has a flash-card. I actually do most of my studying a Barnes and Noble, surrounded by all the books I promise myself I am going to read when I finish the semester. When I get too cold to feel my toes, that's when I stop.
Q. What is your favorite book of all time and why?
A. This is like asking a mother which one of her children she loves the most. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was always my classical favorite, but I have to admit that the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein probably takes the cake.
Q. What is your favorite Bible verse?
A. Psalm 139 has been the most powerful passage in my life. It is the passage the Lord always gives me to let me know that I am beautiful, valued, and loved. It always gives me the strength to push forward.
Q. If you could meet with anyone alive or dead, who would it be and why?
A. Dead: William Wilberforce (and I am again the typical Regent student.) He inspires me every day to fight for justice even when the cause seems hopeless. The Lord used him in mighty ways.
Alive: Rafa Nadal (I am generally a fan of gorgeous, Spanish, professional tennis players).
Q. If you could have lunch with any faculty member or administrator at Regent who would it be and why?
A. Probably Anca Potoan. I don't know her, but she seems to do everything, and the Italian in me wants to make sure she is well-fed.
Q. What kinds of extra-curricular activities are you involved with?
A. I am on Law Review, so that on top of law school takes up the majority, if not all of my free time. I am the treasurer for Phi Alpha Delta as well, and I also help to instruct a course for the university Writing Center.
Q. If you had an entire weekend available, what would you do in the Hampton Roads area?
A. I love how this is wisely predicated with an “if.” I always go up to Colonial Williamsburg during my limited free weekends. I love the history and the food. Oh the food...I get a big candy apple from the chocolate shop and...I am going to stop now.
Q. Is there anything else you would like your peers or future law students to learn about you?
A. I'm a pretty open book, but I think what I would like people to learn is that I was a very different person before the Holy Spirit got a hold of me. I am fully a product of God’s grace!
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