Armed with dreams of becoming a public defender, Priya Tamilarasan knew affording law school would be a challenge. But due to the scholarship support she received upon enrolling in the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State, Priya—now in her third year of studies—looks forward to beginning her career with a clean financial slate.

Did the financial aid you received from Ohio State help sway you in your decision to come here?
The scholarships were the deciding factor when I chose which law school to attend. I applied to several, and I believe Ohio State was the only one that had a wide range of financial aid available. The scholarships give me the opportunity now to be able to go directly into the public service sector, rather than have to worry about working at a firm for a few years to save up the money to pay off my loans as quickly as possible. Now I have almost no loans and I can start my career right from the beginning.

Since you have less of a financial burden to bear, what are you able to do in your free time that wouldn’t otherwise be possible?
I do have a part-time job, but it’s in the public defender’s office. I was able to get my foot right in the door from the beginning, and that has been greatly because of my scholarships. I didn’t have to worry about trying to get a part-time job just to get money. Also, I can focus on volunteering my services so I can start to network with people, and start to get to know several of the attorneys in the area. That has definitely been a very enriching experience in my career.

Have you witnessed any of your peers struggling to make ends meet?
A lot of my friends were taking a few years off after college, planning to go to law school or another secondary school, and it’s not an option anymore. It’s something they have to wait on now until the economy turns around. It’s been an issue within the law school, too. Some of my peers have been worried, to say the least, about their careers. I think it is a choice that unfortunately a lot of people have to make these days: Whether or not to hold out for their dream job, or to just take whatever comes along.

Aside from supporting individual students, how do private donations help the university and Moritz as a whole?
The amount of financial aid and the donors that are giving to the university really helps increase the caliber of students that are here. I know several of my peers who are top-rate students who just have to settle for a smaller community-based school because they simply don’t have the money to afford a top-rate education. Scholarships do a lot to ensure that the potential of these kinds of students is taken advantage of, and to make sure Ohio State is a competitive university.

Do you plan on supporting Ohio State students once you are established in your career?
If I am fortunate enough in the future to be in a position to be able to give back to the university, that’s something I definitely want to do. I feel that acts of kindness and acts of selflessness create a ripple effect. Things that I was fortunate enough to receive, such as the scholarships and awards that I got from Moritz, are things I want to pay forward in my public service. This is an opportunity that will make a difference.