Riya Patel

Hi, my name is Riya Patel. I am a first-generation college student out of a semi small town located roughly 30 mins northeast of Cleveland, Ohio. I had been enrolled in the private school system for the majority of my life due to the fact that the public school system around me had been average at best. I do believe that my high school experience had a tremendous influence on who I am as a person today. Some of my bigger roles in high school included being a student ambassador and a Certified Peer Educator which taught me proper leadership as well as communication skills.

One of the biggest influences I encountered during my high school experience was taking APUSH with a teacher named Mrs. Schnieder. Generally, APUSH is not a favorite topic amongst most students, but I enjoyed every aspect of that class primarily due to the interactive way my teacher taught it. That class highlighted my interest in history and in law and was one of the first times I truly thought about having a career in the legal field. My summer job during my junior and senior year of high school included working at East Coast Custard. I also was given the opportunity this past summer to work as a legal intern at the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas. Some of my hobbies include working out, reading, trying out new coffee places, and traveling.

Currently I am a junior at the Ohio State University majoring in psychology with a minor in criminology on a pre-law track. I am actively a part time student splitting my time between studying for my LSAT which I plan on taking in June and an internship with the Ronald McDonald House Charity here in Columbus. My internship at the RMHC includes assisting the Family Service Managers and the House Operations director with daily hospitality operations as well as assisting with coordinating referrals and new family applications by evaluating eligibility requirements. I am also on the executive board for the Gujarati Student Association as an event coordinator. Alongside those, I am also an active member of Ohio Innocence Project, Tri – Alpha Honor Society, and the NeuroLaw club here at OSU.

As for the future, the ultimate goal for a career would be becoming an attorney although I am unsure on what kind of law I would like to practice; As of right now I have narrowed down the options to criminal defense or prosecution, medical malpractice, or family law. While I do not have a preferred law school I would want to attend, I would lean towards attending and hopefully settling down somewhere along the east coast. Over this upcoming summer, I was invited back to participate as a legal intern with the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas.