Maran Mascaro and Christina Santarosa remember first meeting at the University of Dayton School of Law’s new student orientation.
While waiting to get a photo, they chatted about what law school would be like and bonded over having both served in the Army.
But it wasn’t until later that they, along with several other students, gained a clearer picture of the mission they could undertake together.
The Veterans and Military Advocacy Group (VMAG) has long been a student group at the law school, comprised of both veterans and non-veterans alike.
But, after being inactive recently, a call went out for new leaders and members to bring back the group.
Maran and Christina were among those who volunteered.
Maran says her military experience started later than most. She joined the Army at 28.
“I'd already had a career in journalism under my belt, but life took me on a journey, and I had always admired people in the military, and I thought, hey, why not me?” Maran says.
She joined as a paralegal and figured becoming a Judge Advocate General (JAG) was in her future.
“I loved being involved with the law,” Maran says. “I loved the whole process of it. I loved making sure that people who needed justice got it.”
But an injury forced Maran to medically retire from the Army before she could follow that path. She thought that might be the end of her legal career dreams, but the flexibility of UDSL’s Online Hybrid J.D. program made them a possibility again.
“The Dayton program just makes things so accessible,” Maran says. “It makes it a lot easier for people who have those aspirations to get into it.”
Christina also thought at one time that attending law school was not going to be possible for her.
She joined the Army in 2004 for the stable life it offered after growing up without much in the way of financial security. She ended up staying 20 years before retiring.
Law school had always been a dream of hers, but it seemed out of reach because of the cost and the lack of part-time programs.
But in the search for what to do after retiring, Christina found that wasn’t the case any longer.
“During retirement, I was like, well, what am I going to do?” Christina says. “And then it kind of came to me like, why can't I go to law school now? It's more accessible for all types of people. That’s why I was drawn to Dayton.”
Now in their second year of law school, Christina and Maran say their military experience has helped them.
“I would say facing uncertainty became normal for me because you never know what you're walking into on a day in the Army, particularly on deployments,” Christina says. “I think it also helps with confidence because having a little bit of life experience lets me know I can do this. I've done hard things before.”
Maran says the Army and legal field are similar in that they both ask those in them to adhere to a higher standard of ethics.
“In the Army we have certain values, loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, integrity, personal courage and honor,” Maran says. “What better applicability than to law? It’s an idea that you're committed to something that is bigger than yourself. It's the ultimate group project. We all need to work together.”
Now they are working with other UDSL students on reconstituting VMAG. Along with Maran, who is President, and Christina, who is Vice-President, the students in the group include Treasurer Kelsey Haslam, Secretary Selin Flower and Residential Student Liaison Zachary Wood.
“As we've been going around trying to make these arrangements, we found other people who were taking initiative on their own, and now we're all coming together,” Maran says. “We realize we have these common goals, so it's been really cool to be able to make those connections and work toward those.”
The goals include writing a new constitution for the group, incorporating a membership that includes both Residential and Online Hybrid J.D. students across different time zones, and figuring out what events to organize.
“We’ve really had to brainstorm what we want to accomplish over this next year instead of just being a group in name only,” Christina says. “We really want to focus on one or two things that we can actually get done for the community, and I think we're on track.”
Right now, the group is looking at helping veterans through the VA and holding a Wills for Heroes event in collaboration with the Probate and Estate Planning Law Society. The event will welcome active-duty military members, veterans, and first responders. Along with wills, attendees may also be able to receive assistance with advance medical directives and powers of attorney.
“As we have put the group back together, a lot of the sentiment that we've seen is that VMAG did so many wonderful things and we're excited to see them back,” Maran says. “So we know that there's expectation, but we also know that if we're going to do these projects, we really want to make sure that they're presented in a way that honors the legacy of the group.”
If you are a student who would like to join the group or someone who wants to reach out to the group about support or partnerships, please email vmag@udayton.edu.