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| Easton Depp ('19) |
As I conclude
my undergraduate experience, I find myself reflecting on these past four years.
I am privileged to have had many incredible experiences and visited four continents.
From hiking the Andes to climbing the Great Wall, I caught many beautiful
sunsets. I found it beautiful: seeing the same sun from a different
perspective. The opportunity to challenge my pre-conceived notions and
experience growth was exhilarating. I chased that feeling as I looked ahead to
my career.
As I prepared
for my next chapter—law school—I sought out a new environment much like the
ones I had experienced. I applied to law schools all over the country, chomping
at the bit for my next adventure. Would I hazard the frigid winters of the
Northeast? Would I saunter down to the South? Wherever I applied, I
anticipated eagerly the opportunity to watch a new sunset.
My ambitions
ranged far and wide, as did my applications. I contemplated applying to a
foreign law school. I looked at domestic law schools and whether they had opportunities
to study abroad. By the time my applications were sent off, I had applied to several law
schools: ten potential locales with new sights and sounds. My excitement grew
as I submitted each application.
However,
something was amiss. Although I grew up in northern Kentucky, I described
myself as a Cincinnatian and did not connect my identity to Kentucky. When I
entered the McConnell Scholars Program, I (rightly so) received criticism for this.
The McConnell Center was founded on fostering the brilliance of Kentucky
students and I didn’t identify as one. Yet these past four years in Louisville
have turned me into a proud Kentuckian. I didn’t realize it, but that love for
Kentucky anchored my ambitions to travel far for law school. By the time I
narrowed down the list of schools I would send my final application to, I realized
I had not applied to a single school west of the Mississippi River.
This love for
home and hearth continued to manifest as I began to seriously weigh my options
and choose my next academic home. I
considered schools less than an hour away, and some over ten hours away. The
school’s proximity to home figured prominently in my decisions. I wanted to
have the option to return to Kentucky—to return home.
I found
myself trapped between a rock and a hard place. My desire to travel clashed
against my desire to stay near home. I struggled to reconcile the two. When I
found the London Law Program at Notre Dame, the stars seemed to finally align. The
program would allow me to continue studying American law while abroad in
London. I would have the option to study for a year or a semester at their
London campus. I could spend the rest of
the time studying for my degree in South Bend—only four hours from home.
I look
forward to my time at Notre Dame Law School. Most of all, I am excited that I
have found a compromise that preserves my roots and enables my growth. Perhaps there isn’t anything wrong with
seeing the same sunset.
Easton Depp, of Ft. Thomas, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville, where he studies political science, economics and history. He is a member of the UofL Honors Scholars Program and a Henry Vogt Scholarship recipient. He was named the 2016 Outstanding Greek New Member of the Year.