“Got a Minute?” with Pamela Rubio, 3L
Welcome to Ƶ’s “Got a Minute?” series. These are fun, short-answer interviews with 20 rapid-fire questions. We’ll find students throughout William H. Gates Hall as they study, wait for class or hangout with their classmates.
This week’s “Got a Minute?” interview is with Pamela Rubio, 3L.
Ƶ: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?
Pamela Rubio (PR): I'm originally from LA. I was raised in Echo Park and the Silver Lake area and then moved to the suburbs to a town called West Covina.
Ƶ: What's one interesting fact about where you're from?
PR: One interesting fact about West Covina is that it was on a list of one of the most boring towns in California. I think it came out when I was in high school.
Ƶ: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?
PR: I went to UC Berkeley for undergrad.
Ƶ: Did you take time off between undergrad and law school?
PR: I did. I graduated in 2019, so I took off about two to three years and worked quite a few different jobs. I was a third-grade teacher in Oakland, and then I was a bartender on the weekends. I also worked in legal discovery for a small private practice.
Ƶ: Who would play you in a movie about your law school journey?
PR: Oh my gosh, this is hard to say. Maybe Jenna Ortega or Victoria Justice.
Ƶ: Without looking, how many glass structures are in the courtyard.
PR: Maybe three?
Ƶ: Most people guess three, but it’s four. Which fictional lawyer do you think would make the best law professor?
PR: I'm thinking the Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix.
Ƶ: Finish this sentence, “Law school is like…”
PR: A new world.
Ƶ: What’s your favorite spot on the UW campus, excluding William H. Gates Hall?
PR: I like the fountain area as well as the greenspace near the HUB with the swing.
Ƶ: How many different Law & Order TV shows have there been?
PR: SVU, Criminal Intent, the one with Stabler where he has his own series – I don't remember the name of that one — and then the regular one. So, I think four.
Ƶ: There have been eight different ones. Which historical legal case would you time travel to witness?
PR: Oh my gosh, that's hard to choose. I think, maybe, the original Roe v. Wade from 1973.
Ƶ: Which legal term would make the best name for a band?
PR: Maybe one of the Latin ones — let me think. I’ll go with De Facto.
Ƶ: Where's your favorite spot to get a bite of food nearby?
PR: I go to Café Solstice because their turkey paninis are just so consistently good, but it seems like they're always sold out.
Ƶ: Name one professor that should give a TED Talk and on what topic.
PR: My clinic Professor Jeannine Lemker is a great speaker. I think hearing her talk about her career trajectory and being open to following different paths or something very broadly like that.
Ƶ: Which professors are listed first and last alphabetically by last name in the directory?
PR: Wow, I don't know. I’m going to guess Zang for the last one, but I can't think of the first one at all.
Ƶ: Ambrose is at the beginning and Ziff is at the end. If you had to argue in favor of pepperoni pizza in court, what would your opening statement be?
PR: I would say, “I'm here today to talk to you about some controversial pizza topics. And I think the first question I want to ask judge and jury is, do you enjoy flavor? Do you enjoy a savory slice of pizza? And if the answer was yes, then I think we all agree pepperoni is a great topping.”
Ƶ: What was the most recent class you attended and what was a highlight from that class?
PR: I had my securities class on Friday, and a highlight of that class was the professor informing us that the next class was canceled.
Ƶ: What area of law would you like to pursue after you receive your J.D.?
PR: I'm hoping to pursue corporate transactional law. I'm in the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic and I’m planning to continue what I do there because I really enjoy it.
Ƶ: Name one class you're hoping to take while you're here.
PR: Next quarter, I’m looking forward to taking two classes. One is white collar crime with Professor Lemker, and the other is the AI law class with Professor Nguyen.
Ƶ: What's one interesting thing about you that people may not know?
PR: I actually dropped out of college and moved to Hawaii for two years where I worked at a resort and served piña coladas at the pool. I was there for winter break and I was like, “I'm going to stay, this is fun.” I always knew I would go back to school, and around the two-year point I felt it was the right time to go back.