From the Office of Admissions with Dean O’Keefe

Admissions

From the Office of Admissions: CLAIRE O’KEEFE AssociateDean of Admissions and Student Engagement

Richard Varadan ’20, Katarina Chavez ‘21, Associate Dean Claire O’Keefe, Chaplain Monsignor McGrath, Carolyn De Salvo ‘20

In the midst of the global pandemic, what does the admissions office attribute to bringing one of the largest classes into Ave Maria Law? In what ways was the admissions office able to adapt their admissions process during Covid-19? The class of 2023 is the largest and most credentialed class we have welcomed in the last several years. Once the pandemic hit and our school had to go totally online, the admissions department quickly adapted. Our entire process, from initial inquiries, application intake, file review, interviewing to decisions and deposits, continued remotely without any delay. To the outsider, it would have been impossible to tell that it was all done from remote locations. I think the fact that our process was fairly seamless generated confidence in our applicant pool. In addition, we hosted virtual open houses, Q&A series with the Deans and the Admissions Team and zoom events with current students. Due to the virtual nature of our outreach, we were able to reach an even wider audience. In addition, our decisions to go virtual with our very successful summer start program and ultimately our traditional fall start were made early, affording us ample opportunity to advise and counsel students with concrete information about our law school program.

How has the school prepared in order to ensure that students continue to receive a top-notch legal education while starting classes virtually? Once the decision was made to go online, our faculty and administration completed hours of training on Zoom, Canvas, CALI and other learning platforms. As a school, we pledged that our students would receive the same robust legal education online as they would in person. When we knew we were going online for the Fall semester, we took it up a notch and did more advanced training, including using CALI to aid in incorporating flipped classrooms and asynchronous components. We continue to improve upon our virtual teaching throughout the Falll semester.

As the Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Engagement, your role allows you to welcome students and remain in touch with them throughout their law school career. What are your hopes for the class of 2023? Any advice? I am very grateful that my position provides the opportunity to remain in close contact with our students. It is so rewarding to watch as they transition from nervous, overwhelmed 1Ls, then mature and gain confidence, prepare to graduate and head into the world to do great things. Even though the Class of 2023 started their law school and legal career in an unorthodox manner, life is full of surprises and their ability to weather this storm head on and chase their dreams will bode well for their futures. My hope for them is that these next three years are everything they expected and more. It is a time for hard work, personal discovery and achievement, the beginning of life long friendships, challenges and victories and unlike anything else they will experience. My advice: welcome and embrace every minute.