Aggie alumni Sofia Molodanof graduated with honors from UC Davis in 2018 with an English Major, and emphasis in Literature, Criticism and Theory. She is now one year away from finishing Graduate School at Georgetown in Washington D.C., but her interest in law started as an Undergraduate at UC Davis.

“I had an interest in law when I was here at Davis, I did an internship in the past and I wrote my senior honors thesis on law and literature and I connected that to health and mental health,” Molodanof said.

She completed her honors thesis on Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace, and its connections to law and mental health. Through her time at Georgetown, Molodanof has combined those interests sparked by literature by pursuing healthcare law.

“The first year you take all of the general courses, but I’ve had an interest in healthcare law,” said Molodanorf. “I took a class this semester that I really liked so I think I will be pursuing that path.”

Molodanof described how her background as an English major here at UC Davis prepared her for her career in law school.

“When people say that law school is a lot of reading and writing, it is really a lot of reading and writing, so that has been really great for me to have an English background,” Molodanof said. “I remember taking two or three English classes a semester here at Davis, and just having tons of books I was reading, and I was really enjoying it. It did really prepare me for all the reading I am doing at school there and writing as well. Writing was a strength that I had going into law school.”

Molodanof continues to expand her experiences and will begin interning for the Department of Justice next year, and over the summer will be working for Health and Human Services as she prepares to graduate from Georgetown.  

“The overall material that I’m learning has been really interesting, and I’ve had some really great professors,” Mololdanof said. “A lot of professors that I’ve had have also done a lot of work for the president under different administrations, for their legal departments, or for national security teams, so it has been really cool to have them as professors.”

Molodanof also shared some of her favorite memories from her time here at UC Davis.

“I have a lot of fond memories about my English major,” Molodanof said. “I’m very glad that I went this route. One of my favorite things was studying abroad through the English Department’s program with Elizabeth Miller, and then I ended up writing my thesis with her after. I enjoyed having the opportunity of being able to read all those different novels in London, and even having a program that was specifically for English.”

Molodanof shared her advice for undergraduate English students also interested in following the path to law school.

“If you’re an English major trying to go to law school, just take all the classes you are interested in, especially in the English Department,” Molodanof said. “Gaining those skills of reading, writing and analysis are the keys to law school, enjoy your time and take those classes you’re interested in. I took as many classes as I could, and I enjoyed every one of them.”