Written by: WSCL Marketing Team
A Path Rooted in Service and Problem-Solving
Samara Abdallah has always wanted to be involved in work that helps people and improves lives. That, along with having a knack for analysis and loving challenges, led her to the legal journey she has now taken on at Western State College of Law at Westcliff University. “I’ve always been drawn to helping others and uplifting my community,” she says. “I want to use the law to create greater access and fairness for people.”
For Samara, law brings several parts of her personality together. She enjoys problem-solving, thinking through difficult questions, and being pushed beyond what feels easy. But she also wants her work to mean something to people who need help. “Law felt like a natural fit because it combines those interests with the opportunity to make a real impact,” she explains.
Now a 3L student at Western State, Samara is interested in personal injury and medical malpractice law. She also works at a personal injury firm, giving her a look at what legal practice is like. Law school is also very meaningful to her because she’ll become the first attorney in her family. That achievement has further strengthened her desire to make a positive impact.
Finding the Right Fit Through Western State’s Part-Time Program
While she wanted to attend law school, Samara also had a job, which made it difficult for her. Until she found Western State’s part-time program, that is. Finding this program offered her a practical way to pursue law school while working. She began in January 2024 as a spring-start student and initially took evening classes. This allowed her to maintain her professional responsibilities. “I ultimately chose Western State because it offered a part-time program, which gave me the flexibility to balance working while going to law school,” she says. “That balance was really important to me.”
Being in Orange County also made Western State a practical choice. But the most important part of Samara’s decision was the ability to manage her career while attending law school. Having her employer’s support also made balancing work with school a lot easier. She was able to reduce her work hours to devote more time to classwork, but she also needed to guard her schedule. “Time management is what has helped me the most,” she says, adding that support from her colleagues and Western State has also made a difference.
Her advice to other working professionals looking to go to law school comes from experience. She encourages them to follow a schedule, speak with professors, and be honest with employers about what they need. “Don’t feel like you’re alone. You have a community around you,” she says. “Everyone’s experience is different, so find something that works for you.”
A Community That Makes the Challenge Feel Attainable
During her first year, Samara learned that although school could be demanding, it doesn’t have to become isolating. Because many students in her spring-start cohort also had jobs, they understood each other very well. “We were all going through the same thing,” she recalls. “That sense of community, and everyone going through the same thing at the same time, just uplifting each other and motivating each other, was very helpful.”
That experience stuck with Samara. It’s what makes Western State stand out to her: an environment that feels collaborative rather than cut-throat, and students who encourage and help one another when classes get difficult. “It feels like people are genuinely rooting for each other, and they want everyone to succeed rather than being against each other,” she says. “It’s really welcoming.”
The faculty are just as supportive. Samara says law school has challenged her in unexpected ways, academically and personally, but she has always had someone to turn to. “The professors are really supportive and genuinely invested in student success,” she says. “They push us to reach our full potential, but they’re also very approachable and helpful.”
These experiences made her legal journey feel manageable. As Samara puts it, “Western State has made the challenge of overcoming law school feel more attainable.”
Representation, Heritage, and Belonging
Samara’s identity as a Lebanese and Mexican American has shaped how she thinks about representation in the legal profession. She’s trilingual, speaking Arabic, Spanish, and English. Growing up between the two cultures made her especially conscious of how certain communities are less represented in professional spaces, while her family and cultural background gave her a strong sense of pride and motivation. “Being Arab American has shaped how I view the legal field by making me more aware of issues of representation and access,” she says. “This really pushed me to pursue law school and a career where I can contribute, bring perspective, and help increase representation.”
As part of Western State’s Arab American Heritage Month spotlight series, Samara reflected on what the recognition means to her. She sees it as an opportunity to celebrate the contributions, resilience, and diversity of Arab Americans while giving greater visibility to their accomplishments, particularly in the legal field, “where representation really matters.” And that recognition by Western State is really special to her. “It means a lot to me to be part of a law school that recognizes and celebrates Arab American Heritage Month,” she says. “Throughout most of my academic journey, I haven’t really seen my Arab heritage recognized in this way.”
Faith, Mentorship, and Becoming the First Attorney
During difficult moments, Samara turns to her faith, which helps her approach challenging situations with patience and purpose. She draws strength from the belief that hardship can shape her into the attorney and person she is meant to become. “Everything just makes you stronger,” she says. “Every challenge I go through is always for a reason.”
That perspective holds a very particular meaning to her because Samara is the first person in her family to pursue law. It’s special because she gets to be the first, yet more difficult because she doesn’t have family to lean on. Instead, she has relied on professors, classmates, colleagues, and the Western State community as she builds her legal career.
One Western State alumna and professor who made an early difference was Professor Zoha Khan (Class of 2016), who taught Samara during her first year. “She made that transition into law school feel a lot more manageable,” Samara says. She remembers Professor Khan as approachable, effective, and genuinely invested in her students. “During Ramadan, she was also very understanding and gave us a moment to break our fast, which I really appreciated.”
The support Samara has received has inspired her to encourage others. She informally mentors friends entering law school and newer employees at her firm who are considering legal careers. “I would love to be a mentor, whether it’s friends or family or anyone,” she says. “I try to help them out, guide them, and motivate them.”
Discovering the Law Through Experience
Hands-on legal experience has helped Samara turn classroom concepts into a clearer understanding of practice. As part of her hands-on legal training, she completed an externship focused on plaintiff-side civil personal injury work through a course she took, instructed by Western State’s Director of Career Development, James Gilliam. “I learned a lot about how civil personal injury cases work in practice and really enjoyed seeing how these concepts translate outside of the classroom,” she says.
The externship confirmed her interest in personal injury while also exposing her to other areas of practice. Through conversations with her classmates who were doing externships in different fields and at different firms, Samara learned how much legal work varies across fields of law. It made her more open to exploring other areas of law before she graduates. “You actually talk to someone who’s practicing in the field, or better yet, you actually work in the field or do an externship, and you realize what it’s actually about,” she explains.
Samara hopes to take on another externship to get more hands-on experience and learn about other areas of law. “I’d definitely like to do another externship before I graduate,” she says, “ideally in a different area of law so I can keep building practical experience.” She is also interested in Moot Court and can see herself pursuing it in the future.
Carrying Her Purpose Forward
As Samara moves closer to becoming the first attorney in her family, she continues to build the experience, relationships, and confidence that will shape the kind of lawyer she becomes. She plans to take on more externships to gain additional hands-on experience and remains open to other fields of law. She also hopes to serve as a mentor for other incoming law students who, like her, did not have family in law to lean on, and share the lessons she wishes someone had given her when she started.
Dean and Professor of Law, Justice Halim Dhanidina (Ret.), sees that same promise in Samara and students who share her determination. “I’m incredibly proud of Samara and students like her, whose futures are bright because of the hard work and dedication they bring to their legal education,” says Dean Dhanidina. “At Western State, they can rely on the training and support of our community while they are in law school and as they move forward in their careers.”
Samara urges students to be honest about the commitment law school requires. “Law school is a big investment financially, emotionally, and in terms of time,” she says. Where possible, she encourages students to learn about the legal field through work, shadowing, or an internship, so they can make a decision with a clearer sense of what the profession entails.
“It’s important to go in with intention and commit once you make that decision,” she says. Just as important is finding people you can rely on. “Having a good support system and seeing yourself reflected in the space can make a big difference in whether you feel like you really belong.”
Samara came to Western State hoping to turn her desire to help others into a career. Now, she is building toward something even larger: becoming an advocate for her future clients, a source of representation within the legal field, and the mentor she once needed herself.
