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Why Law? Essay
My interest
in the law began with donuts. As a child, I
developed early persuasive skills during
family disagreements on how to divide boxes
of the treats. My parents belonged to the
"biggest people deserve the most donuts"
school of thought; while as the youngest
family member, I was a devout believer in
the "one person, one donut" principle. The
debates were often cutthroat, but when it
came to donut distribution, I sought justice
at any cost.
As my family
grew older and more health-conscious, we
stopped eating donuts, and for many years I
forgot our childhood debates. However, some
recent life decisions have brought to mind
those early explorations of justice.
When I first
arrived at the American International School
of Rotterdam, I quickly learned that my
colleagues were a diverse and talented group
of people. Unsure of how to establish my own
place among them, I tried phrases that had
always worked to impress college friends.
"When I work for the UN . . . ," I told the
second-grade teacher, and she answered with
an erudite discussion of the problems she
faced as a consultant for that organization.
I told the kindergarten teacher, "When I'm
in law school . . . ," only to hear about
his own experiences in law school. By the
time I discovered that even many
grade-school students were better travelled
than I, I learned to keep my mouth shut!
Living alone
in a new country, removed from familiar
personal and cultural clues to my identity
and faced with these extraordinary
co-workers, I started to feel meaningless.
How, I wondered, could I possibly make a
difference in a place as vast as our planet?
To my own surprise, I found that answer at
church. Although I was raised in the Bahá'Ã
Faith, I have only recently understood the
essential place that religion plays in my
identity. Bahá'à social beliefs include the
need to work against extreme poverty,
nationalism, and prejudice; and I now
realize that I cannot hold those beliefs
without doing something about them. My
identity rests on these convictions; I
cannot see the need for help and just move
on. I have to help; it's who I am.
The lessons
I've learned from my international
colleagues have channeled my desire for
service into the field of international
development. I still wish to fight the
"'Biggest Get the Most' Theory of Donut
Distribution," but now on an international
scale.
Uniqueness Essay
Once in a
while I am approached by past research
associates who heard that I "got out," as
several of them put it, and who want to know
how I handled the switch. Some of them have
no idea that people with science backgrounds
have options other than research and
teaching, and many are discouraged by the
thought that they would have to leave their
beloved science in other to engage in those
activities. Several of them have called me
from home to ask these questions, for fear
of being overheard at the laboratory.
The first
thing I tell them is that there is far more
to science than the "bench." I myself
entered the science field as an
undergraduate, when I chose to study
veterinary microbial genetics. I worked in
the laboratory of Dr. William Sischo, an
epidemiologist who specialized in
number-crunching but who needed technical
assistance with field sampling and
laboratory work to generate the data. Dr.
Sischo instilled in me a strong desire to
learn about and experiment in genetics. I
was fascinated by the many ways genetics can
be used to help understand how or why
certain biological functions occur, and I
wondered how I could use my knowledge of
genetics to benefit society.
After I
obtained my bachelor of science degree, I
went on to graduate school earning a master
of science degree part-time while working
full-time jobs in a couple of well-establish
research institutions. I enjoyed both
graduate school and working in the
laboratory. I also learned the "correct"
career path-an academic position at a
respectable research university-was what we
were supposed to want out of life. More
specifically, academic laboratories were
acceptable, but working in industry, even to
do research, was generally looked upon as
"selling out." I believe this attitude has
relaxed somewhat since then, since grants
and jobs have become harder to secure and
tenured positions lack the security they
once possessed.
It was during
my graduate studies that I began to question
my goals and the assumptions they were based
on. I was becoming increasingly unhappy with
the direction my career was heading, and I
began to question my abilities and
motivation. Finally, when I heard myself
mutter out loud "I don't want to do bench
work forever," I sat up and took notice. I
decided that in spite of my training, and
even though I still loved science, research
was not right for me.
I wanted a
career, or at least a job for starters, that
valued my graduate degree and training, and
that was a better fit for my skills and
future ambitions. I decided I would do best
with a job that was externally driven either
by deadlines or by the needs of others; in
addition, I wanted to talk, write, and/or
evaluate science as a whole rather than
focus on one particular aspect of a research
project.
As a
molecular geneticist, I had occasionally
interacted with the patent department at
SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in
support of my supervisor's patent
applications. They worked on a variety of
intellectual property issues in a number of
scientific disciplines that were of interest
to the company. I realized then that I could
make very good use of my science background
as a patent attorney.
Earlier this
year, I accepted an offer to work as a
patent agent in the Corporate Intellectual
Properties Department at SmithKline Beecham.
The job involves writing and prosecuting
patent applications, which in turn requires
broad knowledge of both science and law. I
soon realized that, in order to become an
effective patent practitioner, I must become
intimately acquainted with U.S. patent law.
Because SmithKline Beecham is an
international corporation, I have also
learned a great deal about international
patent law so that I can assist in foreign
prosecution of SmithKline Beecham's patents.
When I first started the job, it occurred to
me that my learning curve was a cliff with
an overhang, and I was at the bottom looking
up.
I was
extremely lucky to find a job almost
immediately following graduation last
January. However, this opportunity was not
trouble-free; there were additional risks to
consider at the time I made the decision to
change. Our company was in the middle of
negotiations to merge with another
international pharmaceutical company,
GlaxoWellcome Pharmaceuticals. As details of
the merger were released, we were informed
that the majority of the money saved in the
merger was going to be invested back into
research and discovery. In other words,
because of the patent applications that I
draft and prosecute, my job as a patent
agent will play an essential role in the
inventive process in the new company. Daily
interaction with inventors keeps me
up-to-date with cutting-edge technology in
the biotechnology field. As my work
progressed, I knew I had made the right
decision, and I have never looked back.
In October, I
took the complex patent bar examination. My
determination to take the examination
straight away was derived from my desire to
become a registered patent agent before
entering law school, so that my academic
studies will not suffer while I attempt to
balance a career and my education. I am now
hoping to complete the career transition
over the next four years by attending law
school at Villanova University and becoming
a patent attorney. A few weeks ago, I was
offered the opportunity to move to our new
research facility in North Carolina, but
declined the offer in hopes of attending
Villanova's law program, which is well
respected among the various pharmaceutical
companies on the East Coast for its
intellectual property education.
Intellectual
property is a crucial asset to our company,
and I take generating and protecting these
assets very seriously. A considerable part
of my job involves "translating" science for
attorneys and patent law for scientists. I
also have to be able to understand a new
result quickly enough to grasp what the
specific invention is and ask further
questions which allow me to distill the
invention down to its bare essence.
Organization is also key-this is something I
learned as a matter of self-preservation,
since this is a deadline-driven, and
sometimes crisis-driven, job.
I now believe
that my job as a patent agent is not a break
with the past; rather, it is an exciting,
alternative continuation of my career as a
scientist. The patent applications that I
draft and prosecute make me a critical part
of the inventive process at SmithKline
Beecham. Furthermore, my interactions with
inventors on a daily basis keep me up to
date with the latest technology. Not so long
ago, when I began research as an
undergraduate, I wondered what impact I
would have on the development of new
scientific knowledge. Through my work as a
patent agent, I know that I am a key
participant in the promotion of scientific
progress.
I still run
into acquaintances from my research days who
ask me why I "left science." I am quick to
set them straight. I may not get my hands
wet, but I use far more of my education and
training than I ever did at the bench, and I
am very much still in science. I firmly
believe my experiences in science and patent
prosecution will allow me to be a creative
and contributing member of Villanova
University, both as a student and as a
future attorney representing achievement. |
