Our guest blogger for the month is Isabelle Wallace, a graduate of the Certificate in Law program. In her blog, Isabelle shares her program experience and the courses she enjoyed the most. She also talks about how the Certificate in Law program has equipped her with the skills needed to land a job in the Ontario Cabinet Office.
Hello, my name is Isabelle. I took the Certificate in Law concurrently with my undergraduate program at Queen’s. I started with the in-person Law 201 (Introduction to Canadian Law) and continued online studies with Constitutional, International, and Corporate Law.
I took the Certificate in Law to supplement my undergraduate major, environmental science. I wanted to get a taste of studying legal curriculum in case being a lawyer was a career I wanted to pursue.
My favourite course was Law 207 (International Law) because I could choose an international legal issue that pertains to my individual interests for a final term paper and work closely with a teaching assistant to refine the essay.
After finishing the Certificate in Law alongside my Bachelor of Science Honours in the spring of 2022, I started a new job in the Ontario Cabinet Office.
I appreciate that the materials and skills taught by the certificate were transferable to other coursework. For my final year of undergrad, I completed an independent thesis in the School of Environmental Studies.
I worked with provincial omnibus Bill 197 and omnibus Bill 229. The curriculum in the Certificate in Law enhanced my understanding of Canadian legal and judicial processes and vernacular. It helped me better analyze the significance of how both bills affected environmental safeguards in Ontario.
My advice for prospective Certificate in Law students is to work on English language writing foundations. Technically sound and clear writing skills are critical to submitting quality work for the certificate. The professors, TAs, and graders will help you with this throughout the certificate.