When I began law school, I wasn’t entirely sure which area of the legal field I wanted to pursue. That changed the summer after my 1L year, when I was accepted into Temple Law’s Rome Program. There, I took three courses (earning 5 credits) and interned at a well-known international law firm. The combination of studying international law in the heart of Rome and working alongside practicing attorneys gave me both unforgettable experiences and a clear sense of direction for my career.
Living just twenty minutes from campus near Piazza di Spagna felt like the best kind of luck. Each morning, I passed Versace and Valentino on my way to class, and each evening I returned home to classmates who quickly became like family. I also grew close with law students from around the world, expanding my professional network in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Outside of school, I experienced the city the way it should be experienced—vintage shopping on Sundays at the Mercato, dancing with local artists in Trastevere, and even getting my own “Lizzie McGuire moment” with a motorcycle tour of Rome by night.
The courses I took in Rome were unlike any I had taken before. For a Global Legal Perspectives assignment, my two roommates and I gave a ten-minute presentation on the “olive oil mafia” in Italy. We went to the local grocery store to buy the highest quality extra virgin olive oil – only the best for our classmates – and passed out samples while explaining how organized crime has shifted into counterfeit olive oil. We explored the intricacies of what makes real olive oil, the special police force tasked with catching counterfeiters, and the history of production in southern Italy. In Advising the Multinational Company, I researched how Deutsche Bank’s overcompliance with U.S. sanctions exposes cracks in international financial governance, sparking my interest in sanctions compliance and trade law.
That academic curiosity became professional passion during my internship with Meranda Avvocati, a respected international law firm in Rome. From an office overlooking Villa Borghese, I reviewed civil litigation cases and tracked sanctions compliance in the Middle East, seeing firsthand how U.N., E.U., and U.S. frameworks overlap and conflict. It was there that I realized I want to dedicate my career to sanctions compliance and international trade law, helping companies navigate complex regulations and defending clients against improper placement on sanctions lists.
When I came back to Philadelphia, I reshaped my entire 2L fall schedule around this new direction, enrolling in courses on international compliance and human rights. I also stepped into new leadership roles at Temple: President of the Environmental Law Society, Vice President of the International Law Society, and Vice President of the Wine Society. (Thanks to Temple’s on-campus wine tastings, I can now say with confidence that my palate has been professionally trained, or at least professionally adjacent.) I felt like I had found a field of law that sits at the intersection of my passions and my background, one that I believe I can one day be great at. As a first-generation Iranian American, sanctions mean more to me than just regulations on paper, they are deeply tied to where I come from. That connection makes this line of work not only important but also motivating.
Beyond the classroom and office, I swam under golden Maltese sunsets, explored Pompeii and Capri, reconnected with family along the Adriatic coast, and stood inside the Supreme Court of Italy. And of course, I savored the slower rhythm of Italian life, where meals aren’t just eaten, but celebrated.
Yet the most powerful part of this journey was deeply personal. Decades ago, my mother fled Iran during the revolution and built her life in Italy. Walking the same cobblestone streets she once did gave me a profound sense of confidence and connection. For her, Italy was a place of refuge; for me, it became a place of clarity. That full-circle moment reminded me that resilience is something we carry forward, and it cemented my determination to pursue a career in international trade law.
Temple’s Rome program gave me direction. I returned from Italy with certainty about my future in sanctions compliance and international trade law, a global network of peers and mentors, and a deeper understanding of myself as both a person and a future attorney.
