Fordham Law student Dionis Jahjaga ’26 was not sure what to expect when he saw 20 pairs of eyes staring at him while he stood at the front of a classroom with a lesson plan in hand. Little did he know the moment marked the start of a fulfilling summer sharing his legal knowledge with high school students interested in the law and legal profession.
Jahjaga and two other Fordham Law students served as legal teaching fellows at the Summer Law Institute, a rigorous five-week program that introduces rising ninth graders to the fundamentals of criminal law. The institute is sponsored by Legal Outreach, a New York City nonprofit organization that offers students from underserved communities the opportunity to challenge themselves through introductory legal education and debate competition as academic preparation for their pursuit of higher education.
The Fordham Law students taught criminal justice topics that ranged from Miranda Rights and the concept of Mens Rea, or a “guilty mind,” to plea bargaining and punishment. Their pupils also interacted daily with lawyers who volunteered their time to speak about their career trajectories, went on field trips to businesses and law firms, and learned the skills necessary to perform as attorneys in a mock trial competition at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse.
Jahjaga said the experience left an “impressively large impact” on him, “It was great to work with my students and see them grasp concepts in real time. Some kids understood the lesson quickly, but for the ones who took a second and said, ‘Oh, Mr. J, I get it because…’, it was such a rush and incredible feeling to say, ‘Yes, you got it, that’s exactly it.’”
He added, “You live and you learn—and now I know that I like teaching.”
The initiative is part of a partnership between Fordham Law School and Legal Outreach that has spanned more than a decade. Not only do the fellows provide the teenagers with a deeper understanding of the legal system, but they also model what a legal career can look like, according to Brandon Kronstat, co-director of law-related education at Legal Outreach.
“The law students taught a core curriculum after undergoing four weeks of training, but they created their own lessons, were encouraged to bring their full selves into the classroom, and showcased all of the legal training that they’re getting at Fordham,” Kronstat said.
Jahjaga was joined by Fordham Law students Chorouk Akik ’26 and Caleb Rocha ’26, who also worked as fellows in the Institute. Akik, who taught at Hunter College before attending Fordham Law, said she was excited to be back in the classroom, providing her students with the knowledge of their constitutional rights and making them more familiar with the criminal justice system as a whole.
“I hope my students walked away with a real understanding of their rights, especially when it comes to police interactions,” Akik said. “I also wanted the students to gain confidence in asserting those rights while also realistically keeping themselves safe as they grow up in a big city like New York City.”
Rocha, who took inspiration from his mother, a high school math teacher, this summer, noted his students’ transformation over five weeks, “You forget what it’s like to be entering high school. These students want adults to respect them, and they work so hard to earn it. Many of them are truly brilliant and are fascinated and engaged with legal material before the age of 15; it was so awesome to see. I’m proud that I got to teach them, and I wish I had an opportunity like this when I was their age.”
