My name is Mirin Fader, and I am a senior, English and Comparative Literary Studies Major at Oxy. Sports (particularly basketball) and writing are my passions. At first glance Division III Oxy might not seem like the place for an aspiring sportswriter. It does not attract big-time Division I recruits and does not have sports media present at varsity games or practices. But my liberal arts education from Oxy taught me how to write creatively.

I was the men’s basketball beat writer for Oxy’s athletics website (oxyathletics.com) my junior and senior years, where I wrote game stories for all home and away games in addition to features articles, traveling with the team across Southern California. In a small-school environment, I had the freedom to...

My academic background consists of an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in English and a Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School. I knew throughout college that I wanted to attend law school. There is no specific undergraduate pre-law degree at most colleges that would prepare a student for law school. In my case I was an English major but took almost as many history courses as I did in my major. Both were good preparation for the writing and analytical requirements of studying law.  Any degree that trains a student in analytical skills is good preparation, including math or engineering. Political science is another popular degree among people who apply to law school.

After graduation from law school I took the California Bar and then moved to Washington DC, where I practiced with a private law firm for about a year and a half, then moved to the US Department of Energy, where I worked in the General Counsel’s...

The three employees at Strategies 360 are very outgoing, diplomatic, straightforward and assertive. They know how to ask to get things done in a kind and effective way, which is crucial in a field where having connections and utilizing them to help clients get what they want is the cornerstone to the company. I had always assumed that working with state level politics would be the same as federal, and it turns out it is on a much more intimate level. This led me to desire to work on the federal level, because I was not so excited about work on such a small scale. After this experience, I am driven to use my skills in the same format that the employees at Strategies 360 do, but on a different level and with different issues. It motivated me to research careers in international law and ocean...

Tor demonstrated his leadership skills, his ability to relate to his employees, and his charisma, which all  help him when managing around 1000 employees. In addition, although very busy Tor handled every meeting very diplomatically and gave his attention to many details, never accepting less than perfection. He was very nice and I have a great experience shadowing him.

I really enjoyed seeing everyone working both together and separately on projects. Each client gets assigned a group of people, creatives and account managers, who work on the client's brand. I loved the quick-paced and creative environment of the office.  Everyone I talked to agreed that no day was ever the same. Through this experience, I learned that I want to work in a very similar environment....