When Emma Boehme Grant L’29 was accepted into the Syracuse University College of Law’s JDinteractive (JDi) program, she looked forward to sharing experiences with others studying the law through the hybrid online program. However, Emma was fortunate to already have someone very special in her corner to help her acclimate to law school — a 3L who just happened to be her father, George Boehme L’26.
Shared Values Draw Father/Daughter to JDi Program
George is currently completing his last semester in the JDi program, after retiring from a successful career in newspaper publishing and starting his “second act” in his 60s by enrolling at Syracuse Law.
Feeling he hadn’t done enough to make the world a better place throughout his career, George decided that a law degree would allow him to offer pro bono legal services to those in need and possibly teach law at some point. Located in Houston, George found Syracuse Law’s JDi program allowed him to stay in Texas while achieving his goals.
Emma lives in Memphis, Tennessee, where she works full-time as the homeless management information systems director at the Community Alliance for the Homeless.
She always wanted to contribute to the “greater good” and, at first, focused on art, culture, and community as a way of empowering people and creating change. Later, she chose to be a preschool teacher to impart good values, morals, and decision-making on young children.
“It was gratifying, but neither was fulfilling me the way I had hoped,” she says of her early career choices. However, Emma’s current job has shown her the many challenges organizations and the people they serve face that could benefit from someone with a formal legal background to guide them.
“Through a combination of my life experience and the current political climate, I see law school as a step in positively impacting the world around me,” she says.
Crossing Paths and Sharing Experiences
At the time, George was already enrolled in the JDi program, and Emma admits he was an inspiration to her. Seeing how much her father valued the JDi program, she decided to explore it herself and quickly realized that its flexibility and online courses could be an ideal fit for her, too.
“When my daughter first asked me about Syracuse’s JDi program, I was flabbergasted, as she had never mentioned an interest in the law before,” George says. “I wasn’t sure if she was serious at first, and I didn’t want to scare her off. But now that she is a student here, too, I am incredibly proud. I tend to be a big cheerleader for the Syracuse JDi program, as I can’t find a single flaw in my own experience, so I love telling others about it— and that included my daughter.”
Because George is two years ahead of Emma in the program and classes are held online, she did not expect much interaction with her dad. But she did not anticipate that he would serve as an academic success fellow for Civil Procedure during her first semester and for Contracts this semester.
“It just worked out that way, and it’s nice to know he’s there for me, but he doesn’t give me special privileges. He still makes me schedule office hours with him, and not just pop on the phone and say, ‘Dad, can you help me?’” Emma explains, noting that most people at the College of Law are aware that they are father and daughter.
“But, it is an advantage that he knows better than anyone how my brain works and how I process information, so, of course, he helps me and is very forthcoming with letting me know what resources are available to me at the law school,” she adds.
While Emma has a way to go in the program, she is eager to continue. George is preparing to graduate this May and start his legal career.
“Honestly, I’m disappointed that my Syracuse Law experience is about to be over, but I’m eager to see what’s in store for me after graduation, as I’ve been working hard towards that goal,” George says.
“I’m confident my daughter will have a similar experience over the next two years. And I can’t wait for the day I’ll be able to say that both father and daughter are alumni of Syracuse University College of Law.”
