Jaren Dunning, who is entering his third year in the School of Law, has used his UGA academic experience to build a resume that includes two stints with the United Nations, a semester at Oxford and an Equal Justice Foundation Fellowship.
Hometown:
Americus, Ga.
High School:
Americus-Sumter County High School
Degree objective:
Juris Doctor, Master of Public Administration
Other degrees:
Bachelor of arts in English literature and Italian studies, Emory University, 2010
Expected graduation:
Fall 2013
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
My time at UGA has truly been a remarkable experience. I entered with the intention of focusing on international law and public policy, and UGA has offered some incredible opportunities that have allowed me to explore my interests.
After my first year, I participated in UGA Law’s Global Internship Program and served as an intern for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute in Torino, Italy. My work at UNICRI centered on the development of a series of judicial system reform and training programs for the Lao PDR. In the same line, I’ve also worked as a student coordinator for the International Judicial Training Program at UGA for the past two years.
In the spring of my second year, I participated in the UGA Law semester program at the University of Oxford. Oxford was an amazing academic experience that proved extremely useful in my work with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. At UNODC, I worked to develop a strategies document for the prevention of violence against children in the juvenile justice system. Given my involvement in the document, I was invited to attend a high-level panel discussion on violence against children in the juvenile justice system at the U.N. headquarters in New York, which was a wonderful experience.
Having explored my interests in the public sector, I’m excited to work for the global public policy group of PepsiCo this summer, where I will get to explore my growing interests in corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability.
I also serve as a dean’s ambassador for UGA Law and was a 2012 Equal Justice Foundation Fellowship recipient.
Current Employment:
I serve as a graduate fellow at the Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. Fanning helps communities, organizations and individuals plan for the future, develop and strengthen their capacity and build the necessary skills to achieve their goals. On top of an engaging workload, the faculty at Fanning are amazing people and extremely fun to work with.
Family Ties to UGA:
I’m the first member in my family to attend UGA.
I chose to attend UGA because…
My first time visiting UGA was for an open house for admitted students. I fell in love with the campus and professors, which combined with UGA being a flagship university, made UGA Law the perfect choice. Looking back on my time at UGA, I can’t imagine going somewhere else.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
I don’t have a lot of downtime on campus, but when I do, I try to make it to a few sporting events every semester.
When I have free time, I like…
I love to hang out with friends and just relax, generally around good food. I’m a true foodie at heart. If I’m not doing that, you can probably find me at yoga or playing pick-up basketball at Ramsey.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
Anyone who knows me well will tell you that most of my crazy stories revolve around me traveling. The craziest thing I’ve done would probably be climbing a volcano to see the sunrise and then climbing down into its crater with friends to spell out our names with giant boulders.
My favorite place to study is…
… definitely the annex to the law library. It’s super quiet and usually not too packed during the day.
My favorite professor is…
… David Shipley from the law school and Joseph Whorton from the department of public administration and policy. Both are great professors and amazing men, and I am extremely lucky to have taken their classes and worked with them during my time here at UGA.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
… my grandfather, James Edward Paul. He passed away my freshman year in high school so there would be a lot to catch him up on and even more to ask his advice on.
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
… try out for the Lakers. No really, I would.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to…
… take a year off to travel. I know it’s cliché, but with graduation and full-time employment coming quickly, it would be the last opportunity I have to take an extended time off to travel.
After graduation, I plan to…
… take the New York State Bar and move to NYC.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
Hands down one of the best experiences I’ve had while at UGA was my semester studying at Oxford. Aside from the intense studying, it was four months filled with amazing friends, great times and surprisingly tasty food.
