“Got a Minute?” with Gina Feliz, 1L
Welcome to the second season of 鶹 Law’s “Got a Minute?” series. Like last year, we’ll find students throughout William H. Gates Hall and ask them 20 questions about their law school experience, a bit about themselves and occasionally drop in a pop quiz or two.
This week, we’re featuring Gina Feliz, a first-year J.D. student.
鶹 Law: Are you originally from Seattle, and if not, where?
Gina Feliz (GF): No, I'm not from Seattle. I'm originally from outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I recently moved here from Brooklyn, where I was before this.
鶹 Law: What's one interesting fact about where you're from?
GF: My hometown has the oldest Memorial Day Parade in the United States. It's a town called Doylestown.
鶹 Law: Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?
GF: I was at Princeton University in New Jersey.
鶹 Law: Did you take time off between undergrad and law school?
GF: Yes, I took three years off. I was the class of 2022, and that first year I worked at a housing nonprofit doing communications development, and then I went to a legal thinktank to do voting rights research and policy advocacy.
鶹 Law: Without looking, how many glass structures are in the courtyard.
GF: I was warned about this question; so I can say that there are four.
鶹 Law: What’s one interesting thing you've covered in your classes so far?
GF: Talking about when federal courts can hear state court decisions has been interesting. I never really understood how they ended up in federal court, but now I kind of do.
鶹 Law: What year was the Supreme Court established?
GF: I want to say 1789.
鶹 Law: Yes! You're the first person to get that right. If you were arguing in front of a jury made up of TV show characters or personalities, who would be the toughest juror to convince?
GF: Probably the housewives of Beverly Hills.
鶹 Law: If you could come up with a new class at 鶹 Law, what would it be?
GF: Oh, that is super cool. So, caveat, I don't know what a lot of the upper-level classes are, but I would love it if there was some sort of criminal procedure for transformative or restorative justice practices. I think that could be really cool.
鶹 Law: What's more peculiar, the fact that “Law” starts with an “L” and the building is shaped like an “L”, or that our dean has the word “Law” in her last name?
GF: Oh, definitely having a dean with the word “Law” in her last name — that's got to be serendipitous
鶹 Law: When did William H. Gates Sr., the namesake of 鶹 Law’s home, graduate from 鶹 Law?
GF: 1952?
鶹 Law: So close — 1950. Name one professor that should give a TED talk and on what topic.
GF: I would love Professor Knudsen to give a TED talk. She's talked about it briefly, but engagement in civil impact litigation would be really cool.
鶹 Law: If you could have any superpower, besides flying, what would it be?
GF: Being able to speak any language would be really cool.
鶹 Law: What area of law would you like to pursue after you receive your J.D.?
GF: I want to do some sort of civil rights impact litigation. Currently, I’m really interested in public defense, immigration law and voting rights.
鶹 Law: What was the most fun thing you did this past summer?
GF: I went to Maui with my family, and I was able to hike up Mount Haleakala. I saw the sun rise from a 10,000-foot elevation, which was really cool. We woke up at 1:45, which was crazy, and then got back by 11 and slept the rest of the day. But it was so worth it.
鶹 Law: Which professor would have the most interesting second career, and what would it be?
GF: Professor Ziff has got to have something else going on, like a talk show or stand-up comedy. He's just a very engaging speaker and very quick witted.
鶹 Law: What's your favorite memory from law school so far?
GF: The last day of Orientation where we had that barbeque, and everyone got to get together for a little bit and hang out was really nice. That was also the first week that I was in Seattle. So, it was just a good community event.
鶹 Law: Name one lawyer who inspires you.
GF: Fred D. Gray who was a big part of the civil rights movement in the South. He was a lawyer in Alabama who represented a lot of folks during the boycotts.
鶹 Law: What's your favorite Halloween-related movie?
GF: It might have to be “Practical Magic”, which is not super Halloween-related, but it takes place during the fall and has witches, so it feels like it is. It's from the 90s — highly recommend it.
鶹 Law: What's one interesting thing about you that people may not know?
GF: I'm a big Bravo fan. I feel like that feels incongruous with the whole law school vibe, but I love reality TV. It's not even a guilty pleasure. It's just fun.