Albany Law School Welcomes Entering Class of 2023

August 17, 2023

Albany Law School welcomed the entering Class of 2023 - many with a scheduled graduation year of 2026 – during its annual Orientation with social connections, introductions to legal education, and community service.

Of the 192 incoming students, 171 are starting the J.D. program this fall while 21 began in January. One transfer student is joining the 2L class.

The incoming class:

Age ranges from 20s to 40s
Includes 20 with a family member who has attended Albany Law
Is self-identified as women: 52%; men 46%; non-binary: 1%; preferred not to identify: 1%
Includes 6 military veterans
Includes 28% self-identified as first-generation college graduates
Includes musicians of piano, guitar, drum, and the French horn
Includes athletes who lettered in rugby, softball, basketball, golf, tennis, baseball, football, soccer, and lacrosse
Has 30 percent who self-identify as diverse
Includes students who speak English, American Sign Language, Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Turkish, Russian, German, French, Polish, Portuguese, Pushto, Dari Persian, Bengali, Punjabi, Ukrainian, and Urdu
Attended over 90 different undergraduate institutions
Represent 19 U.S. states and territories
Were born in: USA, Canada, Cameroon, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Republic of South Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, China, Turkey, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Ukraine
Represent more than 50 undergraduate majors including: Accounting, Art/Design, Anthropology, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Classics, Computer Science, Communications, Criminal Justice, Economics, English, Education, Finance, Industrial Relations, History, Journalism, Legal Studies, Liberal Arts. Marketing, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology and Spanish.

Orientation kicked off on Tuesday, August 15 with a welcome from Assistant Dean of Admissions Amy Mangione, as well as the first welcome address from President & Dean Cinnamon P. Carlarne who is in her first semester at Albany Law School.

Mara Afzali ’17 inspired students by sharing her experiences at Albany Law before the new class was introduced to law school support staff by Associate Dean of Student Affairs Jenean Taranto. The new students then learned, “How to Take Extremely Useful Notes,” with Professor Ava Ayers before learning how to address implicit bias and recognizing and interrupting microaggressions with Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Jermaine Cruz and Assistant Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives Bria Barnes. Then after breaking out into sections for sampled classes taught by Professors: David Pratt, Kanika Johar, Ted De Barbieri, Dan Bollana, Michael Hutter, Connie Mayer, Jonathan Rosenbloom, Keith Hirokawa, and Michael Wetmore, the class reconvened to hear about the Student Bar Association and student activities with Dean Taranto and SBA President Max Sevor ’24 before enjoying a bar-b-que dinner.

Day 1 Photo Gallery

On Wednesday, students completed a second sample class before reviewing how to manage finances, preparing for the bar exam, and the importance of character and fitness for admission to the Bar from Dean Taranto and Director of Attorney Admissions for the NYS Appellate Division, Third Department Anthony Moore ’08. Albany Law School’s responses to sexual and related misconduct was reviewed by the law school’s Title IX Coordinator Chantelle Cleary Botticelli ’06. Mental Health Literacy was also part of Orientation with Dean Taranto and Colby Fellows Susanne Corrigan ‘24 and Ashlyn Henrichs ‘25. Dean Cruz and Assistant Director Barnes also helped students deal with the idea of “Imposter Syndrome.” Finally, the Director of the Edward P. Swyer Justice Center Sarah Rogerson, Director of the Government Law Center Hon. Leslie Stein ’81 and Deputy Director Patrick A. Woods ’12 along with the editors-in-chief of Albany Law Review (Marie Therese Witte ’23), Albany Law Journal of Science and Technology (Natalie Turney ’23), and Government Law Review (Sarah Coon ’23) spoke to the new students about how they could make an impact on the legal community outside of the classroom. President of the New York State Bar Association Richard Lewis and Albany Law School National Alumni Association Board Member Renee Behrens ‘12 also spoke to students as the day culminated with a social gathering of new students and Albany Law alumni.

Day 2 Photo Gallery

On Thursday, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Rosemary Queenan, Assistant Dean for the Career and Professional Development Center Mary Walsh Fitzpatrick and Assistant Dean of DEI Jermaine Cruz introduced the incoming class to Professional Identity Formation. The week culminated with US. District Judge for the Northern District of New York, the Honorable Mae D’Agostino, swearing in the class followed by a toast from President & Dean Carlarne.