Legal Studies Major Found Her Niche at Staten Island Campus

“I chose legal studies because I always loved philosophy, and found that many of the philosophical approaches to reaching a conclusion were similar to interpreting law,” she recently observed. “Although both can be incredibly frustrating and start you on a path that feels very circular and futile, you eventually find that what seems at first like an endless stream of sources helps you eventually find your answer.” 

She added, “They definitely have many of the same disciplines of thought and methods for reaching a conclusion. I felt legal studies was as close to philosophy as I would get while still being able to make a living.”

Yvette’s area of specialty is compliance, which she explained requires one to understand the law governing their industry. “Every firm must comply with the various rules and regulations of its industry.”

Compliance, she added, creates the process for a firm to comply with those laws. 

“Compliance creates policies and procedures, delivers training, and implements appropriate controls that a business must follow—all of which are driven by a rule or regulation. I find this extremely satisfying, because at the end of the day, I have actual processes or some other tangible outcome to my work.”

Yvette also interned for the head of Global Disclosure at Morgan Stanley. “Interning is an important opportunity for students who want exposure to a firm to see if they will like it. It’s a great way to test how they would fit in without a full commitment. It also provides great networking opportunities with people whom one would not otherwise be exposed, and potentially lead to a more permanent job.” For Yvette, it served another purpose as the credit-bearing internship enabled her to complete her degree on time.

She singled out the late Richard Ingardia, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as a particularly strong influence, and recalled challenging him on the relevance of the subject. “He expressed that philosophy is one of the most important subjects because a human’s point of view of the world is based on their philosophy. It took me a while to understand how important philosophy is, especially understanding my own. The exploration into my views and the discipline of my thoughts that philosophy has taught me is beyond life changing. It helped me in so many different areas of my life.”

Postgraduation, Yvette intends to continue working full time in the investment banking field. “I also hope to have time to participate in other activities in my community,” she added.

She enjoyed the tight-knit community that the Staten Island campus provided. “I loved the fact that, although it offered so many things, everything felt manageable and within reach. I loved the campus itself as well. It always felt like an escape from the rest of a world often spinning out of control.”