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Andrew Barbour
June 2006
Andrew Barbour, a
student who just
completed his
first year of law school
at the U of A has
been selected as
June’s Outstanding
Law Student
Volunteer. Andrew
volunteered with
the VLP’s Child
Support Project which
is held daily at
Superior Court. “For
most law students,
the ‘legal world’
is limited to a
study carrel in the library
and a backache
from lugging several four-inch thick books around,” wrote
Andrew. “The
thought of that continuing until graduation- or worse, through their
professional
careers-can be discouraging. We sit and soak up words and
concepts all day,
and I think after a while people forget about anything but finals
and their grades.
But every time I volunteer in the Child Support Clinic, it
completely
re-energizes me--I realize that we can give practical effect to our
skills (limited as
they may be as One-Ls). Best of all, we get to see the results
immediately.
Someone could walk in papers a-jumble, but when they leave,
we've been able to
increase their child support sometimes quite substantially.
It's amazing to
see our hard work pay off, but it's that much better when it
improves someone
else's life. And there's also something to be said for
putting a tie on
occasionally.”
Q & A with
Andrew Barbour
If this award
were accompanied by prize money, how would you spend it?
I do have my eye
on a few hornbooks and study guides on Amazon.com, but I
think I'd like to
take my wife out to Anthony's or the Ventana Room
instead...wait,
how much money are we talking about here?
Name some
things that you do when not studying or volunteering with
VLP?
I love playing
acoustic guitar and electric bass. Lucky for my neighbors I don't
have an amplifier
out here in Arizona yet. Now that summer's here and I have a
leisurely
full-time work schedule rather than the 70 hour per week semester
grind, I can get
to the gym and play some squash, too.
What's the best
thing about attending law school in Tucson?
When I got here,
it blew me away how talented and accomplished all my
classmates are.
It's both humbling and inspiring. That's the best part, just
having this huge
bank of experience and knowledge around me.
What has been
your best vacation destination?
I've done a lot of
traveling--I've lived in four countries and I've visited another
dozen
or so. But rather
than a quick jaunt, I'd prefer to spend enough time in one place
to get a real feel
for its language and history. Everywhere I've been has some-
thing amazing to
offer, but when I daydream about a nice vacation, it really
depends on my
mood- do I want concerts and museums? Russia. If I'm in
the mood for a
hike in the mountains, then Korea. History and beaches?
Israel. Food and
shopping? The UAE.
What do you
watch on television when you should be studying?
Channel 58 shows
two episodes of Malcolm in the Middle back to back every
day. I'm out of
commission for exactly one hour.
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Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
