Scholarships paved the way for one UC law student

Julia Parrey, A&S ’24, ’27, hadn’t planned to come to the University of Cincinnati for undergraduate school. And until her senior year of college, she hadn’t planned to go to law school. In both cases, scholarships were the helping hand that brought her where she is today.

“Law school is an investment, and I consider myself very lucky,” Parrey says. “When I came here as an undergrad, it was because of the scholarship I received. I knew the financial support would make me a lot more comfortable in the long run. When it came to law school, I was in the same boat. I knew I’d only end up at law school if the financial aspect of it made sense.”

Parrey’s family’s home in Hershey, Pa., is so close to the state’s largest amusement park that Parrey can see a few of the giant roller coasters out her front window. Her undergraduate scholarship was awarded by her high school, earmarked specifically for a graduate to attend UC. “At the time I didn’t know much about Cincinnati or UC,” Parrey says.

“My parents drove me out to visit the campus and spent a weekend in Cincinnati. I loved it and thought I could really see myself there.”

Parrey enrolled and flourished academically and as a ROAR Tour Guide and Arts and Sciences Ambassador. She was pursuing a double major in neuroscience and political science when she reached a turning point. Despite having envisioned a career in health science, the more technical STEM classes were not her favorites. At the same time, she was energized by two undergraduate courses she had taken in the College of Law. “These courses felt different,” she says. “I was excited to learn and come to class in a way that I wasn’t in my STEM courses.”

The law school courses explored public health policy, signaling to Parrey that a bridge figuratively connects the law and health sciences. “At my core I want to help people,” she says. “And that is the underlying thread in both of those areas.”

Encouraged by a friend to give law school a try, Parrey applied through the direct-admit program and was awarded multiple scholarships. And that, she says, “is how I got into the Klekamp College of Law in my long and winding way.”

To those who donated to her scholarships, she says, “I appreciate your financial support so much. 

Parrey is now fully immersed in the school’s organizations, including Moot Court Honor Board, the Healthcare and Public Health Law Society, Women in Law, and Out and Allies. She has written for the Immigration and Human Rights Law Review and chairs the Student Legal Education Committee. She is a fellow in the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights and has clerked at the Ohio First District Court of Appeals.

Although she has no firm plans for her post-graduate career, she hopes to work in litigation. She is currently employed as a law clerk at Woodard Kendall Lehmkuhl Rennie, LLP, a litigation firm whose specialties include claims arising from traumatic brain injury. “It is very science-based and brings my STEM background into the law,” Parrey says. “I’ve been loving that work. Generally, I just want to use my degree in a way that’s helping people.”

She gets emotional just thinking about her final year in law school. “Community is what I love most, whether through the friends I made who will be friends for the rest of my life, or through my mentors, faculty members, staff. Law school in general is the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the community is super supportive.” 

Featured image at top: Julia Parrey is a student in UC's Donald P. Klelamp College of Law. Photo/UC Alumni Association