More Than a Commute: Law School Lessons from the Thruway

Originally published in Law Links, the School of Law’s e-newsletter.

The four—Keenan Englerth, Wayne Evans, Jonathan Khoury and Cameron Marsh—discovered early in the academic year that they all lived within a few minutes’ drive of each other, not far from Highland Park in south-central Rochester. It’s an 80-minute haul to the North Campus, and as they talked it over, a commuting alliance was born.

What started as a practical carpool quickly turned into a daily ritual of camaraderie, caffeine, and case law. Now the four, who had not met previously, travel together four days a week, Monday through Thursday. They typically get on the road sometime in the 7 o’clock hour of the morning, and after a rigorous day of first-year classes they’re back home in time for dinner.

Turns out the ride itself has become a rich source of support for the hard road of law school.

“All of us have different tastes and different backgrounds,” says Evans, the senior member of the group; he’s married with two children and works part time as well. “But we talk about everything. A lot of times we talk about something in relation to the law, or we’ll throw on a podcast that one guy likes or some entertainment. It’s never the same dynamic.”

While other law students also commute from the Flower City, none live as proximate to one other as these four. “There’s a certain element of luck in that we found each other when we did,” Marsh says. “There were a bunch of text messages and group chats, and that’s how we figured out the four of us live extremely close to each other. It’s really not much of a hassle to pick each other up.”

For Marsh, the ride is a perk of time management. They’ll talk about their shared coursework or plow forward with reading or outlining. But Marsh prefers not to read in the car, so “a lot of days I’ll use that extra time to sleep. Some days I’ll sleep the entire hour. That makes a huge difference.”

“There are times when we chat about anything but school, times when we’re all tired and there’s not a word spoken,” Englerth says. “But we can also talk through, as a group, some topic from class.” He says there’s not a master plan for who’s doing the driving: “We’ll text each other at 8:30 or 9 at night, or even that morning. There’s always somebody who’s able to drive that day.”

An added benefit has been the varied perspectives that the four share. Khoury is from Oklahoma, Evans from Maine; two of the four are married, two are not. Their academic interests range from public service to environmental justice to intellectual property. Englerth taught middle school for three years; Khoury helped organize a union local; Evans, an engineer, had a lengthy career in research and development; Marsh worked at Mental Hygiene Legal Services in Buffalo. All of it makes for a more interesting commute, and a daily reminder that, despite the challenges of the 1L year, they’re navigating it side by side.

“It has been an absolute blessing that we found one another,” Khoury says. “This is an incredible group of students who have presented themselves as really good folks. I couldn’t imagine making this happen without that support.”

Deciding to commute to law school can feel like a significant commitment, but these students show it can be more than just driving from point A to point B. If you are passionate about pursuing law school but other commitments are keeping you at home, don’t let the distance hold you back. By connecting with fellow students early, you may find unexpected friendship and support for your journey.