From Huron to Cambridge
Huron gave me competence academically and socially. My education taught me how to communicate with people from all walks of life, including those in positions of authority.
For Taylor Harris, class of 2013, his parents set the professional bar high before he even arrived on Huron’s campus. At the outset of his university career, he wasn’t sure exactly where he would end up, but he was determined to be successful – not just in terms of how much money he would make, but how passionate he would be about his field of work.
Taylor’s anxieties about his career path were alleviated by Huron’s welcoming small campus environment where he developed “real connections” and established friends who, to this day, he refers to as family. When selecting courses, Taylor made the wise decision to pursue subjects he was passionate about, rather than ones he thought would create a more direct path to a profitable career. “Huron offers an extraordinary Liberal Arts education. I took courses across every single program to really build a fuller understanding of how life works and where I wanted my education to take me,” Taylor says.
In the summer before graduation, Taylor’s academic advisor pointed out that Taylor was just one credit shy of attaining a double major. Little did he know this advice would significantly improve his chances of getting into the expedited two-year (affiliate law degree) law program at Cambridge University, which prioritizes students who demonstrate the academic rigour required of an honours degree. “The rapport and connection with Huron’s faculty and staff were essential because I wasn’t a spectacular student – this level of personalized support and my advisor’s dedication to paying careful attention to my development actually changed my life.”
With the support of personalized reference letters from his Huron professors, Taylor was accepted to Cambridge University in January 2014, and after careful thought he decided to move to the United Kingdom to pursue the degree. He admits working through the LLB program at Cambridge University was the hardest thing he’s ever done, but Huron trained him well by enhancing his ability to think critically, make effective arguments and flourish in demanding exam settings.
But, more than that, “Huron gave me competence academically and socially. My education taught me how to communicate with people from all walks of life, including those in positions of authority,” Taylor explains. “Huron teaches you how to coexist with people, and considering the global political and social climate we live in, this is just as important as knowing how to pass an English exam”.
In 2015, during his first year at Cambridge, Taylor secured a summer vacation scheme at Hogan Lovells International LLP and worked in London, England for the summer. In autumn of 2015 he was offered a training contract position at the firm and they even offered to pay for the completion of his degree. Taylor is currently completing his training contract at Hogan Lovells in order become a fully accredited UK solicitor. The training contract is a two year rotational program which mimics the process of articling in North American law firms. We wish Taylor all the best as he continues to develop into an international Leader with Heart who has certainly raised the bar for future students who will define their unique path to success at Huron.