Matt Diehr 1L

Hometown: St. Louis, MO

The Particulars

Undergraduate degree: Political Science and Political Economy, Double Major

Extracurricular involvement: SLUMark, Sports and Entertainment Law Association

Hobbies: Piano, rugby and tennis

The Details

Favorite thing about the School: The community. Everyone seems to get along very well, which I don't think is the case everywhere.

Favorite professor: Professor David Sloss. He's good at interacting with students and some of the hypothetical situations are very interesting and often pose real philosophical questions – something I didn't necessarily expect to find in law school.

Favorite class? Criminal Law. It's an area I've been interested in pursuing. Every case is like watching an episode of ‘Law and Order’.

How do you choose the law school right for you? When you choose a school, my advice would just be to make sure it offers an environment where you know you can be happy and you know you can succeed.

Why did you come to the School of Law? I was pretty sure I wanted to stay in St. Louis. I want to practice in St. Louis and it made sense to come here. All the people were really friendly and accepting. Dean McInnis in the Career Services Office was really helpful. From the very beginning, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. 

Advice

Advice to new students: If you're from out of town, you should try and get a feel for all the different neighborhoods in St. Louis. Don't just stay around the area you live. There are so many things to do here. It's to your advantage to explore a little and find out what the city has to offer.

Sound Bytes

One cool thing you've done: I survived Hurricane Katrina the first semester of my senior year. I was down there when it was about to hit and went to Baton Rouge with my roommates, 30 miles west of New Orleans. It took 6 or 7 hours to get there. There were downed trees in Baton Rouge.

Coffee or Tea? Mountain Dew.

Favorite books: Catch-22

Favorite Films: Braveheart

Places to eat near campus? Bellon's Market on Vandeventer. I'm kind of biased, though, because I used to work there.

Favorite Study Spot? I study in the library, mainly during the day. I usually just use the individual desks, because it is easier to concentrate that way.

What's your favorite part of St. Louis? I like University City. The Pageant is cool for concerts. I also enjoy hanging out in Clayton, where there’s no shortage of bars. Kilkenny's is an Irish Pub that's fun.

What events do you attend around the city? Mardis Gras in Soulard is a big event. I don't know of any other Mardi Gras celebration, other than New Orleans, that's bigger than St. Louis'. I also like the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dogtown.

Goals? To win the SLU Law softball league in one of my next two years.