Lyon Zabsky, long-time pre-law advisor at the Office of Career Services for over 15 years, retired from the University on Sept. 1.
Rather than replace Zabsky with a single pre-law advisor, Career Services will employ law school experts to meet with students in the interim while cross-training the entire counseling team with pre-law advising capacities for the future, according to Evangeline Kubu, director of External Relations and Operations at Career Services.
Zabsky said she worked at Dow Jones with the Wall Street Journal before making the switch into career counseling at the University 22 years ago. During her time as pre-law adviser, Zabsky saidshe worked closely with both students and alumni from all classes.
“After 15 years, I decided it was time to make a change and I wanted some more time to myself, so I didn’t want a full-time position,” she said. “What I’m doing now [is] working with this great team called PreLaw Experts — it’s former Law School Admissions Council executives, vice presidents and admissions deans.”
After getting to know students through the sometimes formidable application process, hearing news about their law school acceptances was often Zabsky’s most exciting moment to witness, she said. She added that the University education prepares almost every student for advanced education of any kind, especially law.
“It is something Princeton has always, always supported,” Zabsky said."The commitment is there so I’m sure they’ll follow through on it."
Kubu emphasized that the University is “actively committed to meeting the needs of students, first and foremost.”
Career Services plans to bring in law school experts to provide information sessions and one-on-one advising to students while cross-training the entire counseling team in the long-term, Kubu said. By engaging consultants from top pre-law advising organizations to offer training sessions, the goal is to equip every counselor with specific pre-law capacities so that all students interested in law are receiving excellent advising, she added.
“We believe this will help scale our efforts across the entire undergraduate student body,” Kubu said.
Kubu explained that students interested in law school are often considering many other fields when they seek career counseling, so the entire counseling team’s ability to address not just law school but many possibilities simultaneously will be more helpful to students with varied interests.
Career Services hosted a presentation on applying to law school on Monday with Karen Graziano, former president of the Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors. According to a Sept. 27 promotional email distributed to various pre-law student interest groups from Career Services, Graziano conducted“a workshop covering timelines, the LSAT, the Law School Admissions Council, how to navigate the application process and more.”
Graziano will be available for one-on-one advising sessions with students during the week of Oct. 12, the promotional email said. Kubu said priority for these appointments will be given to seniors applying to law school this fall, as well as juniors taking the LSAT exam in February.
Jessica Zou ’16, who serves as undergraduate co-chair of the Program of Law and Public Affairs, said that news of Zabsky’s departure and subsequent changes were not made known to her until several weeks ago.
Zou had met with Zabsky during her freshman and sophomore years to request feedback on her cover letters for legal internships and general advice on law school preparation.
“Lyon just had a lot of insight into the process,” Zou said, describing the way in which Zabsky would tell her about early decision processes of specific schools and help arrange interest meetings with visiting law school admissions deans.
Expecting to meet with Zabsky during the fall application season, Zou said she was surprised and somewhat disheartened when Career Services informed her of Zabsky’s retirement.
“Coming into senior year, I was expecting to get to meet with her as soon as I got back to campus to show her my personal statement and my resume,” she said. “It was jarring … I wish it hadn’t been so sudden with no warning at all.”
Due to Zabsky’s absence, Zou has been reaching out to current law students who previously worked with Zabsky, asking them for recommended resources and other students who have additional insights.
“It might be different for me, [because] I have met with Lyon in the past, she has told me things about applying to law school, and I am probably in a better place because of those conversations than I would have if I had just been expecting to meet with her this semester and I had not met with her before at all,” Zou noted.
Kubu said the University will continue to strengthen its law school advising network.
“Princeton has very good relationships with law school deans and admissions officers, and we will continue growing those relationships,” she said.
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