Get to know your 2025 Orientation Coordinators

Meet the friendly faces who will be welcoming our incoming JD class to Allard Law at Orientation!  

Michelle Chan and Sabrina St-Jean, your 2025 Orientation Coordinators, have been busy crafting events and some memorable moments to kick off your law school journey. In this Q&A, they share tips for starting strong in the Allard community. 
 

What advice do you have for incoming students?  

Michelle: As a student, you will have a lot of opportunities, so don’t worry if you’re not ready to take advantage of all the opportunities right away. Also get to know your professors. Go to office hours so they can put a face to the name. Having established relationship with professors will help you a lot, whether it’s for exam review or a reference letter later on.  

Sabrina: I second the point on connecting with your professors. Don’t be afraid to review your assignments and midterms with them so you know what you are doing well and what you need to improve on.  

I also wish I’d known how easy it is to meet people. It can be stressful when you start a new program, but you will get a lot of chances to connect. Orientation is made for that, and we’ve planned lots of opportunities for you to meet people who will be in your cohort.  

What are you most excited about for Orientation week?  

Michelle: We’re looking forward to actually meeting the first years! We spent the last four months organizing these events with a list of names, and we’re excited to put a face to those names.  

Sabrina: I’m also excited to see Orientation come together. We don’t want to spoil anything, but we changed quite a few things around and tried to revamp it using feedback from previous years. I’m hoping it shows and students will enjoy it!  

Looking back at your first year, which of your accomplishments are you proudest of?  

Michelle: I’m really proud of maintaining a life outside of law school. My biggest concern before starting was that I’d never talk with my friends and family, and I’d just be obsessed with the concept of doing well academically. But I was able to stay connected and have a social life outside law school. I’m proud of my efforts to keep this part of my life and be kind to myself. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what’s important because law school is an intense program.  

Sabrina: I agree. Students who are most successful in law school are people who have good school-life balance. I’m proud that I took care of myself and asked for help when needed. A lot of students can struggle with taking care of themselves mentally, and you don’t want to wait until April to reach out for help because then it will be too late. Academically, I’m also proud of my improvement in Property Law, which was harder for me during midterms season. I put in a lot of work, improved my knowledge, and wound up loving that class.  

What do you look forward to most about being a second-year student?  

Sabrina: I’m looking forward to going back to school knowing what to expect with the workload and being able to relax a bit more, with more certainty about where I am going to be in terms of my summer work placement and other experiences.  

Michelle: I’m excited to take classes that I picked, as first year is a standardized timetable.  Approaching second year, I also feel calmer and more focused, and I’m excited to see how that will translate into my school experience.