1. He’s a Badger through and through.
“I’ve lived nearly my whole life on the east side of Madison. My parents attended UW, my siblings attended UW — pretty much all my family went to UW — so I grew up watching the Badgers. Actually, my first job was working as a vendor at Camp Randall. I was 12 years old, selling Coke at the stadium and watching the game.”
Offor played football for the Badgers.
2. His success on the football field breeds confidence in the classroom.
“I love football, but I wasn’t going to college to play football. I was going to college to get an education. Then my high school coach sent a highlight tape to Wisconsin, and I had the opportunity to walk on to the team. The fact that I could come to the UW to study and play football on top of that was surreal. As long as I can remember, I looked up to those players. One day I was at home, watching them on TV, and the next I was lining up against them, going to team meetings with them and playing on the field beside them. It gave me confidence when I started law school. I thought, ‘If I can do that, then I can do a lot of things.’”
3. Lesson plan: Teaching + coaching = making a difference.
"Before I started law school, I moved to Texas to teach fifth and seventh grade math and also coach football. For me, especially as a black male, I wanted to be a positive role model for kids who are less fortunate than I am. I consider myself lucky. I have great parents, great brothers and sisters, but I know that’s not the case for everybody.
"Teaching was hard, but it made me more comfortable speaking in front of others, and that’s one thing I’ll have to do as a lawyer. Whether or not I litigate, I’ll have to talk to clients, to my co-workers, and to partners. Every day I was up in front of 30 kids, participating in department meetings, or giving presentations to parents and faculty. That made me a better public speaker."
4. UW Law runs in the family.
"Seeing my brother and sister go to law school really made me want to go to law school, too. They came through UW Law together, so I take their advice on law school to heart. They’ve told me things other students may not be aware of, like 'here are the grades you need to get, here are some student organizations you need to be involved in, here’s what you need to do in terms of networking with students and getting to know your professors.' They’ve helped me understand what I have to do to get to where I want to be, which is practicing corporate law, probably in Texas, Wisconsin or Chicago."
Offor with his siblings. Brother Chiji and sister Ify
graduated from UW Law in 2008.
5. His advice to incoming students: Just do it.
"The first year is very important in law school. Basically, you’re trying to do your best, to learn as much as you can, and you’re challenging and competing with yourself for grades the entire year. I like learning, and I like competition, so for me it’s been a unique, fun experience. My advice to first-year students would be to try as many different activities as they can, whether it’s joining moot court or student organizations or going to law school events. Do it all. It’s only three years, and you won’t get to do it again."
Submitted by Law School News on December 7, 2015
This article appears in the categories: We Heart Our Students
