When Jeff Nichols first graduated from college, he thought he wanted to be a teacher.

Nichols enrolled in a master's in teaching program at Notre Dame, where he also received his undergraduate degree, and began teaching high school English in Gulfport, Miss. He took most of his courses during intensive summer sessions.

After completing his degree, Nichols set his sights on a more international classroom setting: Santiago, Chile. "I wanted to experience new places and live other places," says Nichols, who taught English in a Chilean K-12 prep school for a year and a half.

Nichols says the experience taught him many life lessons that are serving him well now that he's back in an American classroom--as a second-year law student. "You develop flexibility in your personality. It makes you better situated to deal with the ups and downs."

After returning to the U.S. and working in the nonprofit and business sectors for several years, Nichols decided to pursue law school. He was offered scholarships at several schools, including the University of San Diego and Ohio State, but decided he liked Quinnipiac best for its small-school environment, location and faculty.

"The setting is beautiful and seemed very student-oriented. I wanted to be somewhere that would invest in me personally," he says. "I wanted the right fit, a place I could see myself staying."

"I knew that I would get attention from professors, that there would be resources available for externships, and that societies and student organizations would be more accessible," he adds. Nichols works on the Quinnipiac Law Review journal and is a member of the Society for Dispute Resolution.

This semester, Nichols is doing an externship with New Haven Legal Assistance, where he deals with cases related to immigration and family law. He says he especially enjoys the client contact. "Having worked for a judge, I needed client contact to round out what I was doing," he says. This past summer, Nichols completed a judicial internship with a federal judge in Bridgeport, Conn., where he had the opportunity to sit in on settlement conferences.

Nichols says the experience was valuable because he had a chance to see lawyers in action. "It was a great introduction to litigation-to see the whole process from start to finish." Nichols is planning to do an externship every semester; he likes the real-world experience and insight into different specializations.

"I want to be well-rounded as a lawyer and have a clear perspective on multiple practice areas," he says.