Chris Hogan, Ohio State University/West Virginia University College of Law

Location: Bowling Green, Ohio,
College/University attended: Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (2012); West Virginia University College of Law, Morgantown, W.Va. (2016)
Major: History with a minor in agribusiness; law degree, concentration in land use and sustainable development.
Career: Law fellow, OSU Extension Agricultural and Resource Law Program

Why did you choose OSU and WVU?

For my undergraduate degree, I looked at both OSU and WVU because I wanted to go to a larger school. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I wanted to have a lot of options. For law school, I liked that West Virginia was a rural state and I could continue to gain experience in natural resources and agriculture.

How are you using what you learned in college today?

In both undergraduate and law school, I sought out those with knowledge — professors or guest lecturers — and mentors who were happy to help people learn, and I gained a lot of information from them, and I continue to seek out people who can help me.

Memorable college experience:

Studying abroad. Through Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, I studied in Chile and the Czech Republic.

Advice for students thinking about college:

First, don’t be scared to change your major. I did it once a year. First, I declared a political science major, then changed majors to history. Then, I changed to ag systems management, then switched back to history.

Second, it’s OK to pursue an ag career even if you didn’t grow up on a farm. I didn’t.

Third, it’s not a bad thing to take some time off. I took a ‘gap year’ between my undergraduate and law classes, and worked for OSU Extension in the ag law program, which really solidified my interest in pursuing ag law. There’s no set path to get to school, and working in the real world really helped me set my interest.

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