Joel Newby
Ohio University alum Joel Newby ’12 is a law student at Capital University Law School and expecting to graduate in May 2018.
He graduated from the College of Arts & Sciences at OHIO with a B.A. in Sociology-Pre-Law and Political Science with a minor in Classical Civilization.
He has always had a thirst for knowledge and is taking advantage of the learning experience. Newby is happy to be learning from some of the greatest legal minds in Ohio and the nation. He feels constantly challenged by his work and by the Professors
Outside the classroom, he is involved in Capital University Law School Democrats, pro bono work, and the Student Bar Association.
He also works at the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office as a law clerk.
His job has provided him with a fantastic experience to learn how to work with clients and how the legal process works in a practical manner. Thanks to the help of the wonderful attorneys and his legal intern’s license, he has even stood in front of judges on behalf of a number of clients.
He has also helped out on political campaigns for county and city offices.
“My job has made my legal education come to life,” Newby says.
His OHIO Experience
“My OHIO experience was a wonderfully positive influence in my life,” Newby says.
He explains that the professors at OHIO infused him with a vast amount of knowledge while they pushed him to think outside the box.
He now uses both the knowledge and out-of-the-box thinking every day in order to solve problems. He often thinks about the lessons learned while sitting in Bentley or Ellis when faced with an issue at work or school.
He also credits the student organizations at Ohio University in helping to shape who he is. These experiences grounded him in how to work with others, how to promote and defend his ideas, and how to lead.
The lessons he learned as Graduate Student Senate president and as chairperson of the Center for Legal Services still provide him with guidance.
In these roles, he learned how to work with people in power to achieve a goal, including meetings with former OHIO President Roderick McDavis to lobby on the behalf of graduate students. He now uses those as a confidence builder for when he stands in front of a judge.
He always had productive meetings with the deans and the various vice presidents. Those administrators treated him with respect and worked with him on any issue he bought to them. Thanks to those administrators, he learned that he could do big things if he makes a plan and works with people in power to achieve them.
His involvement with student organizations also taught him public speaking through the many opportunities to spoke in front of gathering of people, very large and very small.
He says that most of all, his OHIO experience will always be about the people. The truest experience of the Athens campus is not the birds-eye view, but to walk down sidewalk on campus because you cannot walk anywhere on campus without seeing a friendly face.
“Ohio University is a family,” he explains.
“These people are now great friends and networking connections. I love bumping into a friend from college at a networking event and catching up.
“Alumni are everywhere and I have made great working connections just wearing an OHIO shirt!”
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