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» Outstanding Student Award

   
 

Matt Walker

Matt Walker

October 2011 

The VLP is pleased to announce that

Matt Walker has been selected as our

Outstanding Law Student Volunteer for

the month of October 2011. Matt is

entering his second year at the U of A.  

Matt impressed several of our volunteer

attorneys with his confidence and

enthusiasm.  He never showed the s

lightest bit of nervousness as he spoke

with clients or appeared in Federal Court. 

He also excelled at connecting with

clients and establishing a good rapport with attorneys.  Matt’s high quality work

and professionalism make him a real asset to the VLP and the U of A College

of Law

 

Matt is originally from Tucson, Arizona. He attended the University of Arizona as

an undergrad and majored in History and minored in Pre-Law. He graduated with

a B.A. in Secondary Education in December of 2009 with the honor of being on

the Dean’s List. During his undergrad, he student-taught sophomore and juniors

at his high school alma mater, Palo Verde High School.  During his student

teaching days, Matt participated in the Alumni Choir and was a volunteer

instructor for Saxophone and Percussion at Palo Verde High School. He

has also been a camp counselor through UNLV Star of Nevada Drum Major

Camp.

 

As to why he stayed in Tucson to attend U of A law school, he says, “I was born,

raised and will die a Wildcat – there was never really a second choice for me.”

When asked who has been his favorite law school professor so far, he states,

"I plead the 5th -- I've had many who are awesome and don't want to hurt

anyone’s feelings.” At law school, he is on the Arizona Law Review as a 2L

writer, and has also been honored on the Dean’s List (top 20% of class) and

has received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award, Constitutional law (to

the highest grade in class). He has also served as a Summer Extern for the

Honorable David C. Bury on the US district court for the district of Arizona

and has served on the U of A Law Student Legal Referral Clinic.

 

Matt decided to get involved with the VLP because he states, “I knew that I

would be in town for the summer of 2011 and wanted to perform some type of

community service work and VLP seemed like a great program to participate in.”

When asked what has been the most important thing you have learned from

volunteering, he said, “I enjoyed working with members of the community and

helping them with the decision to reaffirm or not reaffirm their debts, and I also

learned quite a bit about bankruptcy law, which was great.” We also asked him

if his view of the legal system changed since he’s been a law student and he

replied:

 

      Not really – there’s certainly a lot more complexity and intricacy to the

      law than I ever imagined before I came to law school, but in the big

      picture I’ve pretty much always felt the legal system as a whole is a

      double-edged sword: powerful for those who know how to use it and

      unwieldy for those who don’t.

 

When asked what his hobbies are, he candidly stated, “We’re not allowed to

have those in law school. I like to read and spend time with my wife and our two

spoiled dogs.” Matt enjoys watching football and basketball and when the Cats

are on, he forgets about multitasking. Once he’s finished with law school, he

hopes that his dream job is one that challenges him and keeps him engaged.

Matt loves to eat at Jax Kitchen on Oracle and enjoys vacation destinations

in Southern California (both Orange County and San Diego).

  

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Past Outstanding Volunteer Student Awards

 

 

 

 

 

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