Rutgers Law School's 2019 incoming class of students is a fascinating, eclectic, and diverse group. One of our 409 new students attending classes in Camden and Newark is Ya Wang, who came to the United States from China in 2010 and came to Rutgers Law for its Foreign Lawyer Program. 

What were you doing before you came to Rutgers Law School?

I came from China and earned an undergraduate degree in Law from China University of Political Science and Law in Bei Jing, China. I came to the United States in 2010 for the LLM program at George Washington University Law School. After graduation from GW Law in 2011, I passed the bar exam of the state of New York and Maryland and was admitted to practice law in both states. I have been working as a vice president and in-house legal counsel for a small corporation in Atlantic City, NJ from 2013 and will work on a part-time basis while attending Rutgers Law School. 

How did you choose to come to law school, and why Rutgers?

It has always been my dream to have a more intensive and systematic legal education about the substantive laws in the U.S. and the professional application of the laws to better serve the corporation that I am currently working with and other potential clients. Rutgers Law School is my first choice as it is close to my family and my work. I feel also very happy that Rutgers Law accepted me at my second application. I actually feel grateful now that I was not accepted last year, because I would have been at my third-trimester pregnancy at the beginning of the orientation and law school classes if I were accepted last year. My husband and I have a loving family with two sons of 4 years old and 11 months old respectively.

What do you hope to get out of law school?

I was admitted into the Foreign Lawyer Program, through which I can earn my J.D. degree in two years. It is great that Rutgers Law gives this special consideration to foreign lawyers and allows them to complete their J.D. in two years. My intent is to gain a more thorough and systematic legal training to be a better attorney in the U.S, so I might opt to take additional courses beyond the two-year track too. Even though I have only been here for one week, I am already in love with the school. I felt so welcomed here from the orientation and have already developed a sense of belonging. I think I will be enjoying my studies at Rutgers Law, whether it is for two or three years.