· Should you go to law school?
· What is the Law School Admission Test?
· Who should write letters of recommendation for you?
· What should your personal statement say?
· To which law schools should you apply?
CSI Pre-Law Advising Hours, Spring 2020
Professor Michael Paris, Pre-Law Advisor Building 2N, Room 226 Wednesdays, 10:00am to Noon, or by appointment Email: michaelpari@gmail.com, michael.paris@csi.cuny.edu
Professor Elena Cohen Building 2N, Room 226 Mondays, 12:30pm to 2:00pm, or by appointment Email: elena.cohen@csi.cuny.edu
College of Staten Island (CSI) Political Science and Global Affairs professor, Richard Flanagan, PhD, sat for a discussion on NY1’s Road to City Hall, weighing in on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent visit to Staten Island.
View the full NY1 Road to City Hall broadcast with Dr. Flanagan’s segment beginning at 23:23.
James Raio poses next to a police car by the Coliseum on his trip to Italy.
Ever since Career Day at PS 53, James Raio ‘17 has wanted to be an attorney. In fall 2017, the College of Staten Island (CSI) Macaulay Honors College (MHC) student will be closer to that dream as he enters Fordham Law School on a partial scholarship.
Maintaining a 3.9 GPA, the Political Science major, minoring in Legal Studies and Economics, advises his peers to “work hard because good grades will pay off later, whether you are applying to grad school or searching for employment!”
The Staten Island Technical High School graduate has interned at the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, an experience that certainly solidified the budding prosecutor’s career plans.
“It was really interesting and taught me a lot about the field. I was able to work closely with attorneys and talk to them about law school and also spoke with law enforcement officials about the criminal justice process,” noted Raio, age 21.
The Bay Terrace resident also works as a pharmaceutical technician and says that time management has been key for him.
“I have always been good about staying on top of deadlines and getting things done early. You can’t wait until the last minute,” urges Raio, who is currently completing his senior thesis, early, of course. His thesis is focused on President Donald Trump and the 2016 election.
James Raio at his high school prom.
“James has been a model student. He already has certain important lawyerly virtues. The words that most comes to mind when I think about James are ‘calm,’ ‘steady,’ ‘methodical,’ and ‘meticulous.’ I’ve always found him to be responsible and thoughtful. It has been a pleasure to have him in my classes and to witnesses his many successes,” commented Michael Paris, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global Affairs. Dr. Paris worked with Raio on his law school applications and supervised his senior thesis.
A native of Staten Island, Raio also studied abroad in Florence, Italy in summer 2015. There, he studied sculpture and was also able to enjoy excursions such as horseback riding in Tuscany and visiting a Ferrari factory. His study abroad program was funded by his MHC Opportunities Fund.
“James is the kind of person I want in my corner, standing up for what’s right when the chips are down. We are all so proud to have him here at CSI. However he chooses to participate in our legal system, he will succeed – and he will make the world a better place for us all,” noted Charles Liu, PhD, Director of MHC and the Verrazano School.
Committing himself to advanced programs at both Staten Island Technical High School and now MHC, Raio is glad to have experienced “rigorous programs that challenged me to excel in difficult coursework. It really makes a difference to work and learn beside other high-achieving students.”
At Fordham, Raio plans to pursue corporate or criminal law.
Richard Flanagan, PhD, College of Staten Island (CSI) Political Science and Global Affairs professor, weighed in on the local political climate in an article on MTV News.com. In the piece, “Resisting Trump In The Reddest Part Of New York City” by Jamie Fuller, Dr. Flanagan “told MTV News that many of these voters are once-blue Reagan Democrats who have been voting conservative for decades and are unlikely to turn back,” according to Fuller.
College of Staten Island (CSI) alumnus Kevin Peter Carroll, Democratic District leader of the 64th Assembly District, has announced he is running for the open 43rd District City Council Seat this year. Carroll graduated from CSI with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, minoring in History.
Michael Paris, PhD, Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs at the College of Staten Island, has been selected as a CUNY fellow in the Advanced Research Collaborative (ARC) for 2017-2018.
Former CSI faculty recipients include Ashley Dawson, PhD and Ava Chin, PhD.
College of Staten Island Political Science Professor Xia Ming weighed in on the situation involving the possibility of the U.S. moving to block Chinese access to artificial islands in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
In the article, “China Hits Out at Tillerson Threats, Warns of ‘Major War,'” Ming commented that, “…tensions in the resource-rich South China Sea could escalate under the Trump administration, however.”
Saada Amadu visiting Château de Chambord in France.
As a sustainable environmental continues to be a global concern for many, one College of Staten Island (CSI) graduate is taking action.
Saada Amadu ’16 has received a full scholarship to attend graduate school at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary to study Environmental Sciences and Policy.
“I hope to work at the intersection of environmental science and policy because I believe for us to be able to find methods to sustain ourselves without endangering the environment and livelihood and well-being of future generations to come, international policy must find a way to bridge the gap with the scientific community,” said Amadu, who was an International Studies major with minors in Geography and French.
The Port Richmond High School graduate credits much of her motivation and inspiration for graduate studies to her experiences with research, under the advisement of Associate Professor Roshen Hendrickson, and study abroad opportunities at CSI.
“Saada is a very bright and ambitious woman who has gained access to stimulating opportunities, such as study abroad and graduate school in Europe, through sheer hard work. She has been a great pleasure to work with because she’s intellectually curious and motivated to contribute to her global community,” commented Professor Hendrickson.
Saada Amadu visiting temples in Hong Kong.
For her honors thesis, Amadu wrote about, “policies that led to Senegal importing over 70% of its food and also organizations and individuals working to revive the sector. The interesting part of the research was discovering that structural adjustment programs imposed by the IMF and World Bank were part of the reason for the decline in the Senegal agricultural sector.”
Currently crafting her Master’s thesis, Amadu is studying “the nexus of food, energy, and water security issues. The need for new energy sources and climate change have led some countries to seek alternative sources of energy through biofuels, which are basically energy derived from biomass. First generation biofuels can be derived from crops such as soy or corn while second generation biofuels are derived from by-products such as wood or crops such as jatropha [a flowering plant]. My research is focusing on the fact that biofuels affect both energy and water security of certain communities, in particular rural Ghanaian communities.”
For a truly rich college experience, Amadu strongly urges college students to take advantage of study abroad opportunities as well as the financial support available for those courses.
“Programs can be expensive but with the help of scholarships and grants, the costs might not be too much. I went on two semester-long programs and was still able to graduate in three and a half years. The Center for International Service is particularly helpful when it comes to applying for programs and scholarships,” said Amadu, who traveled to Paris, France in Spring 2015 and Hong Kong in Spring 2016.
The 21-year-old native of Tamale, Ghana was also the recipient of the Gilman Scholarship, Benjamin Franklin Travel Grant, CUNY SIROCS, and CSI Study Abroad Scholarship.
“Saada is an outstanding, dedicated student with a plan to utilize sustainability initiatives to make a difference for underserved communities around the world,” praised Michele Callahan, Fellowship & Scholarship Advisor.
To succeed in college, Amadu urges students to, “Take advantage of opportunities if and when you are presented with them. Also, try to have a faculty mentor because they can be of help when you least expect.”
