UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Law welcomed 138 students from 26 states, nine countries, and Puerto Rico to campus this month to begin their three-year journey through law school. The class of 2018 is Penn State Law's first since the American Bar Association granted the law school separate accreditation from its sister school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the largest class to enroll at University Park in four years. Each student brings to campus their own talents, goals, and life experiences. Here, three of them share what led them to Penn State Law in University Park.
Chardae Davis
A graduate of the University of Southern California, Chardae Davis wants to work in entertainment law, and brings with her prior experience in the music industry thanks to internships with Universal Music Group and Dick Clark Productions.
“My internship was in music clearance,” Davis said. “So any of the music you hear on shows like 'So You Think You Can Dance?' or 'The American Music Awards' were cleared through a department that assures all songs have the necessary copyright clearances.
“It was a lot of paperwork, but it provided me with hands-on experience in the entertainment industry,” she added.
In addition to the personal attention from faculty and the Penn State school spirit, Davis cites the Arts, Sports, and Entertainment Clinic as the main reason she chose to attend Penn State Law. And she has her career path all planned out: “My goal is to work at a firm, transition to in-house counsel, and then create my own entertainment law firm with a specialized niche … right now, I’m thinking sponsorships.”
Dallas Hartman
Dallas Hartman knew he wanted to be a lawyer when he was a child. He began his undergraduate career at Columbia University where he was a member of the Columbia Lions varsity football team. After a few serious head injuries cut his Columbia football career short, he transferred to Carnegie Mellon University, inspired by the doctor who treated his concussions to study neuroscience and learn more about his own injuries in the process. He spent three years working with his doctor on concussion research for a variety of organizations, including the NFL.
But he didn’t forget his childhood goal to follow in the footsteps of his attorney father. Hartman’s father, Dallas Hartman Sr., earned his juris doctorare from the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and encouraged his son to enroll at Penn State Law because of the resources available to law students in University Park.
“I come from a Penn State family – my sister was in the Blue Band — so I knew this was the place for me,” Hartman said.
Hartman brings work experience from two years spent working at his father’s personal injury law firm, but said his goal at Penn State Law is to explore as many different aspects of the law as possible. He wants to get started by joining one of the many student organizations available at Penn State Law and, with his background as a college football player, he’s particularly drawn to the Sports and Entertainment Law Society.
Brandon McCune
Brandon McCune began his undergraduate studies at Christopher Newport University in music composition, but quickly transitioned into the study of philosophy and knew shortly thereafter that law school was in his future.
As an undergraduate, McCune was active in sexual assault prevention and created a sexual assault awareness program for Greek Life at CNU that was eventually codified as a permanent program.
“Sexual violence awareness has always been important to me because it seems like so many men don’t understand the complete meaning of ‘sexual assault,’” he said. His work in this area has led to his interest in international human rights law, which he plans to explore further at Penn State Law.
“Having the School of International Affairs in the same building as the law school really appealed to me,” he said. Still, he said choosing what school to attend was a difficult decision. “But during my visit, I could tell that the faculty really cared about my interests as a student, and that made a big difference to me.”