When Luiza Cristovam LL.M.’23, L’26 walks across the stage at the Syracuse University College of Law Commencement Ceremony this May, she’ll be celebrating more than a degree. That same day, surrounded by her family from Brazil and his family from Snohomish, Washington, she and Arick Grootveld Ph.D. ’27 will spend the second half of their day celebrating their marriage.
Luiza and Arick’s story began the way some of the best ones do: by accident.
Long before she ever set foot on campus, Luiza’s journey to Syracuse began in Brazil with a canceled interview, a neighborhood power outage, and a last-minute change of plans.
Her father, a judge, had been scheduled to appear on a legal podcast. When a power outage forced the interview to be postponed, it was rescheduled for a later date—one that Luiza decided to attend with him while her mother was traveling. That day, she crossed paths with Professor Antonio Gidi, who was also being interviewed. During the conversation, Luiza’s father mentioned that his daughter spoke English fluently and was interested in studying abroad. Professor Gidi took notice and the next day, he followed up.
“Professor Gidi called and said, ‘Luiza needs to come to Syracuse to pursue her LL.M. degree,’” she recalled.
What began as a chance encounter quickly became an opportunity. Luiza applied, was accepted, and soon found herself preparing for a year of legal study in Central New York, unaware that it would become much more than that.
When she arrived in Syracuse, her story continued with another twist of fate. She mistakenly arrived too early, thinking orientation started on August 7 instead of August 14. New to the city, alone in her apartment, and eager to meet people, she downloaded a few dating apps. On her second day here in Syracuse, she went out for a pizza dinner with Arick for a first date, and the two have been inseparable since.
As the year passed while she was completing her LL.M. degree, Luiza began to get the feeling that she was not ready to leave Syracuse. She had Optional Practical Training (OPT) as an F-1 visa holder, which would allow her 12 months to work in the U.S. to gain practical work experience, but she didn’t feel ready to leave either Syracuse, Arick, or the law.
“I soon decided to invest in the on-campus J.D. program to give myself a chance at practicing law in the U.S. in the future,” she said. “I loved what I was doing professionally. And I also wanted to see where this relationship would go.”
Back home in Brazil, Luiza holds an LL.B. and is already a lawyer. Her initial plan was to earn an LL.M. in the United States and return to Brazil to teach law. Legal study runs in the family, as her father is a Brazilian judge, and she grew up surrounded by the legal profession.
As her connection to Syracuse deepened through her studies, her growing sense of purpose, and her relationship with Arick, Luiza began to see her time here not as a temporary chapter, but as the foundation for everything that would come next.
“It was an easy decision to stay,” she said. “Immigrating is hard. Coming from another country is hard. But it is worth it—and he is worth it.”
What began as a one-year plan had become a life she wasn’t ready to leave.
Looking Ahead—Together
After Commencement, Luiza will turn her attention to preparing for the bar exam in July before beginning her legal career as an attorney with the Cortland County, NY Public Defender’s Office, a path she discovered after attending a public defense talk on campus.
For Luiza, the role represents both professional purpose and personal growth—a chance to serve communities while continuing to build the life she and Arick have envisioned together. Meanwhile, Arick is working towards his doctoral thesis on quantum information theory and preparing for the next stage of his academic career.
Throughout their time together, Luiza says, Arick has consistently shown his commitment not only through words, but through action. One of the clearest examples is language. Since they met, Arick has been steadily learning Portuguese so he can better communicate with Luiza’s family and understand her culture. He practices daily and regularly surprises her with new phrases and expressions.
“He even reacts the way Brazilians typically do sometimes,” she said, laughing. “It means so much to me.”
That same thoughtfulness extends to every part of their relationship, from helping classmates and friends to supporting Luiza through the most demanding moments of law school. Now, with graduation approaching, their focus is on balancing celebration with preparation. On Commencement Day, they will walk from ceremony to courthouse, beginning their married life on a day that unites Luiza’s academic journey, her family, and her future.
Looking back, Luiza sees a series of coincidences that led her exactly where she was meant to be, from a rescheduled podcast in Brazil to a first dinner date in Syracuse.
“There was no universe but this exact universe where we met,” she said. “Everything happened the way it had to.”