|
Rigel Massaro
November 2007
Rigel Massaro is a second
year law student
at the U of A. She began
volunteering with
the VLP during the spring
semester of 2007,
participating in the
Domestic Relations Clinic.
During this fall
semester, Rigel has volunteered
for the Child Support
Clinic where she is highly
efficient and
knowledgeable when calculating
child support for a
client. Her competence
and professionalism puts
clients at ease
and assures them that
their child support
will be calculated
quickly and accurately.
Her intelligence and
willingness to help others makes her a wonderful asset to
the VLP!
Rigel originally
hails from Sonoma County, California. She was born in Santa
Rosa and grew up
on a 19 acre ranch located five miles outside of the small
town of
Sebastopol, CA. Rigel gives a glowing description of her hometown
recalling memories
of chasing her dog in the redwoods and picking heirloom
apples in the
local orchards with friends. As an undergraduate, Rigel
attended Wesleyan
University and majored in the College of Social Studies,
an
interdisciplinary major focusing on government, philosophy,
economics
and history. This
strenuous program was nicknamed the College of Suicidal
Sophomores because
of weekly essays and reading assignments of around
1,000 pages.
Rigel
states that her experiences as a law student and VLP volunteer have
changed her view
of the legal system. “I went to law school with the belief that
the law is an
essential tool for enacting meaningful social change. I am learning
that while this
belief is true, meaningful change is dependent on elements,
factors, stare
decisis, standards of review, and the politics of legislators and
courts. My view of
the legal system has changed since I’ve been a law student
in that I am less
naïve and more pragmatic.” She has also developed a
tremendous amount
of respect for Professor Barbara Atwood whom she
describes as a
“graceful balance between accomplished academic, poet,
creator of a
comfortable classroom environment, and mother.”
For those who like
to travel off the beaten path, Rigel highly recommends
visiting a small
town south of Ilheus, Brazil. “I stayed in a hostel in Olivença
where I ate the
most amazing breakfasts of fresh tropical fruit, eggs, ham,
and baked goods.
There was a rubber tree plantation on the hostel’s property,
and a pond with
water that the locals swore had restorative health qualities
(Brazilians travel
from afar to bathe there). The beach was beautiful and the
people swore that
you could 'fall in love' for a weekend.”
When asked about her
experience with the VLP, Rigel comments:
“It’s important to me that I gain real world experience while in law
school, so as to
contextualize my studies. I value helping others.
I have learned legal application in real world contexts. I have
learned
to listen and
transform life stories into legal inquiries. Volunteering
with VLP helps me
remain present to the human element of the law.”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Past Outstanding Volunteer
Student Awards |
