Name: Nick Woodruff
Degree: Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism and a Master’s degree in Mass Communications
Expected Graduation Date: 2012 and 2015
Company: University of California Berkeley School of Law
It wasn’t until his first year of graduate school that Nick Woodruff knew he wanted to be a lawyer.
Woodruff earned his Master’s degree before deciding to go to law school.
“I always had an inclination to want to go to law school,” Woodruff said. “Luckily, my girlfriend at the time, now my wife, supported me in that process and said she would go with me, so we shot for the fences.”
After many applications and much deliberation, Woodruff decided to attend the University of California Berkeley School of Law, where he will graduate in the spring.
Meeting his wife was one of Woodruff’s outstanding memories in the Paul Miller Building.
“I still remember the place that I got her number and where we started talking,” Woodruff said. “I was lovestruck right off the bat.”
Developing an act of diligence and an exceptional work ethic is his advice for sophomores and juniors.
“The one thing a person can control is how hard they work,” Woodruff said. “A person that works hard will be successful.”
Woodruff’s advice for graduating seniors is to separate themselves from people who don’t fully support them.
“You need to surround yourself with friends that support you and actually want you to be better,” Woodruff said. “Once you find those people, it’s important that you lean on them and rely on them because you won’t get where you’re going without them.”
In the future, Woodruff said he hopes to become a partner of a law firm, move into the political arena and come back to Oklahoma.
“The ultimate dream job would be getting to come back to Oklahoma State University and maybe, one day, become the president of the university,” Woodruff said.
After he graduates in the spring, Woodruff will work at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, the top corporate law firm in the world, as a corporate junior associate.