Why study Law?

Law opens doors to countless fields. In my final year of secondary school, I began exploring what the Law degree involved and gradually became fascinated by the essential and decisive role Law plays in society. When it came time to choose a university, Católica was already a clear guarantee of quality. My mother studied Economics at Católica, as did one of my brothers and several friends. I already knew about the quality, rigor, and high standards of the teaching, as well as how well regarded the programme was in the job market. These years have fully confirmed that.

 

What stands out most from your experience at Católica?

The academic excellence and the humanistic approach across services, as well as the competence, expertise, and availability of the professors at the Faculty of Law.

 

As someone from Lisbon who moved to Porto to study, what was it like to live and study away from home?

I never imagined I would end up in the “Invicta” city, but the truth is that studying away from home was something I had considered since I was young. Studying outside our hometown gives us the opportunity to encounter new experiences. I often think about the many people I would never have met, the projects I would never have joined, and this beautiful city I would never have come to know.

 

“What fascinated me most was the practical usefulness of Law: Law at the service of people, in its ordering and structuring role within society.”

 

During your degree, you completed a curricular internship at Pacheco de Amorim Advogados. How was that experience?

The internship was extremely positive. I joined the firm during a particularly intense period of work, and from the very first day I felt the team trusted me and my abilities in the tasks delegated to me across different areas. It was then that I truly understood how different studying a subject is from applying it in the professional world. At the same time, I realised how the Law degree at Católica equips us with the foundations and tools necessary to succeed, provided we are properly guided. There was a shared principle among the lawyers at the firm: you learn by working, and you learn by asking questions.

 

Did your practical experience confirm or change your expectations about practising law?

From the start of the degree, what fascinated me most was the practical usefulness of Law: Law at the service of people, Law in its ordering and structuring role within society. I was never particularly drawn to purely doctrinal or theoretical Law, but rather to Law as a set of tools and knowledge that enables future lawyers to find solutions to clients’ problems and ensure their interests are properly protected.
My experiences at TELLES during the summer and then at Pacheco de Amorim during my curricular internship confirmed this perspective. Another aspect that caught my attention was ethics. A strong academic formation is essential to distinguish between taking advantage of legal loopholes and acting unethically - a fine line that can easily be crossed without proper grounding.

 

“We were not made to be closed in on ourselves. During that week, I stop focusing on ‘me, me, me’, and instead lift my gaze toward the Other”

 

You have been involved in several volunteer initiatives, such as Missão País. How have they contributed to your personal and academic journey?

Volunteering confirms something deeply rooted in human nature. The greatest dream of any person, with or without faith, is to be happy - and that happiness necessarily involves the desire to love and to be loved. However sentimental that may sound, it is far more serious and real than we might think.
Missão País confirms that we were made for great things. As the week progresses and fatigue increases, so does joy. Despite all inconveniences, each missionary’s happiness raises a serious question: where does so much joy (a joy the outside world does not understand) come from?
The answer is always the same: we were not made to be closed in on ourselves. During that week, I stop focusing on “me, me, me”, on my small frustrations, and instead lift my gaze toward the Other. An Other with a face, a name, and often a difficult life story. Volunteer experiences remind me of a phrase by Saint Josemaría: “To achieve happiness, what is needed is not a comfortable life but a heart in love.”
That is the great contribution of Missão País. The missionary understands that what was lived during that intense and transformative week can also be lived in daily obligations, within one’s own environment, where one is called to give oneself fully in service to society, to the world, and above all, to God.

 

Beyond volunteering, you were involved in several extracurricular initiatives. What motivated you to experience university life beyond the classroom?

Not knowing how to say no! (laughs). University life becomes far more enriching when lived beyond academics alone. Various initiatives emerged over the years, and in each one I saw an opportunity to collaborate on projects I identified with and that could make a difference.

 

What advice would you give to a student who wants to make the most of university life?

Do not settle for little. Go deep academically, but also invest in what you can give to the world. There is an exceptional virtue that is often forgotten: magnanimity - the virtue that leads us to desire great things. Go beyond what you already know. Go beyond what is expected. Speak to those you do not know. And above all, be authentic.