04/11/2022
Hello!
My name is Mariana and I graduated from Nagoya University’s Graduate School of Law in September 2022.
While I was an undergraduate student in Brazil, I participated in internships and did pro bono work in my hometown city, which consisted of collaborative efforts to give free legal assistance to the deprived population. I also worked as a teaching assistant for the General Theory of State and Political Science course, participated in a legal research project about immigration and sovereignty, and participated in the Brazilian Arbitration Moot.
After I graduated, I worked as a litigation lawyer for 4 years in São Paulo before coming to Japan to further my studies. I was granted the MEXT scholarship and came to Nagoya to pursue a Master of Laws degree under the supervision of Prof. Masabumi Suzuki. My life at Nagoya University was not a very “normal” one, as most of my time here was during the coronavirus outbreak. In the semester I arrived in Japan, classes were exclusively online, but in the following semesters, the GSL moved into hybrid classes (online and in-person), which allowed me to finally meet some of my classmates whom I only knew via a screen. Despite the inconveniences caused by the pandemic, I believe my experience at Nagoya University was a very fruitful one. Classes were very interesting to me because I had not had much opportunity to learn about Asian law prior to moving to Japan. It was fun – and sometimes challenging – to understand different law systems and compare them to Brazil’s. I also had the opportunity to take some classes at the Graduate School of International Development, which also helped me broaden my views on different topics. My classmates were from many different countries, especially from Asia, so their input and perspectives were always very valuable to me. The staff at GSL was also brilliant. They would always go out of their way to help me whenever I needed them. I also had a great opportunity for networking as I was able to go to dinners with professors and colleagues, and go to a fireworks festival with my classmates organized by one of the staff members at GSL.
I learned a lot during the Master of Laws program, and I was excited to be invited to continue working as a researcher on my supervisor’s projects. I decided to stay a little longer in Japan and help with the projects. I am very grateful to my supervisor and the University’s staff for welcoming and supporting me over these past few years.
