5 Questions for Rae Zou LLM '18
While studying in China, Rae Zou participated in one of Duke Law’s summer institutes and due to the professionalism and kindness of faculty and students, chose to join the Duke Law community in pursing an LLM.
1. Where is home? What is it famous for?
I grew up in Benxi, a small town in the north east of China. My hometown is surrounded by high mountains and famous for red maple leaves. Therefore, in Autumn, thousands of tourists come to my hometown and spend several days enjoying beautiful mountains with red leaves and thermal springs.
2. Why did you choose Duke Law School?
When I was studying in Peking University in China, I took part in the Duke-Geneva Summer Institute. I spent a whole month in Geneva with students and faculty from Duke. I found faculty from Duke not only professional and experienced, but also very kind to students. And students from Duke were friendly, diligent, and interesting to talk with. Therefore, when I got admission with the Global Leaders Scholarship from Duke, I decided to join immediately.
3. What do you like most about Duke so far?
I like everything. I really appreciate that Duke Law pays a lot of attention to international students. One of the things I like most about this program is that our requirements could always be satisfied. I could attend every course I was interested in because international students have high priority in course selection. Faculty made every effort to help us reach out to potential employers and continually provided information on job opportunities. Moreover, international students are warmly welcomed to every school event. Though I've only spent one year here, I feel deeply connected with the school.
4. How did your interest in technology and the law get started and how do you see it playing a role in your career plans?
I used to work in a Chinese ICT company as an in-house lawyer where I developed my interest in the domain of technology and law. Since innovations in technology are rapid, there are a lot of uncertain legal issues in this domain. Therefore, one of my purposes for attending an LLM program was to solve or at least find a clue to those confusing problems through discussions with experienced classmates and professors. Luckily, Duke Law provided plenty of courses in this domain and all the classes I attended advanced my understanding significantly. I’m not sure that I would start my career in a technology company directly after graduation. But since technology industries develop so quickly, a lawyer who had sufficient knowledge in technology, technology business, and technology law would definitely help win the trust from future clients in the technology industry.
5. What advice would you give to international students hoping to study in the U.S.?
This is definitely one of the wisest choices in your life. This year was amazing. We worked hard and also played hard here. International students are very close, and we shared a lot of treasured memories. I already miss Duke Law when I realize that I will leave in a few months.