After three years of hard work and dedication, everything is falling into place for junior Leksi Culafic. Law-school bound, Culafic was recently accepted into iLEAP, the University of Illinois’ direct admittance into its college of law. As if that wasn’t an accomplishment enough, she is also proud to be part of a new campus lifestyle magazine Impulse, which launches this month.
HC: Tell me a little bit about iLEAP.
It’s a pilot program at the University of Illinois that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to be directly admitted into the U of I College of Law. I worked on the application throughout the fall semester and interviewed with Paul Pless, the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid about three weeks ago. I found out that I got in a week later.
HC: When did you decide you wanted to strive for iLEAP?
Initially, I had considered a career in journalism and/or something marketing related, but I always knew that I wanted to go to law school. I double majored in English and Communication, and through research found out about the iLEAP program. I’ve had nothing but an incredible undergraduate experience thus far and I jumped at the opportunity to apply to this program.
HC: How did you feel when you were accepted to iLEAP?
It was surreal. Getting accepted inspired me to work harder and make the most of the incredible opportunities I have been given. I am very grateful.
HC: How will this affect the rest of your time at U of I?
I have a set plan after graduation. The alleviation of that pressure is invaluable. Instead of preparing myself to apply to law school, I can begin preparing myself forlaw school. I’m excited. I can’t wait to start, but am ready to enjoy the rest of my time as an undergraduate with the people I love.
HC: Tell me about your involvement with IMPULSE Magazine.
Impulse is a new type of magazine for our campus. It takes student life and displays it in a sophisticated, sleek way with cool photography and a more artistic touch. To fund the print cost of the magazine we needed advertising revenue. My job as the publisher was to go out and pitch the magazine to potential clients and create a rapport with businesses in the area. Katerina Bizios, the editor-in-chief and I have a tag team going and have about 20 other staff members working under us.
HC: How did you get involved with IMPULSE?
Katerina, one of my closest friends, came to me with the business proposal. She needed a publisher and our talents matched up perfectly. We hit the ground running in January and here we are with a finished magazine and already working on our next issue.
HC: What exactly did you do to prepare for the launch of IMPULSE?
The first issue will be coming out on Monday, April 25th and I couldn’t be more proud and ready for its release. It’s been a lot of work, but an absolutely amazing experience. We run a professional magazine on a professional level, something not many people our age could say. I am contemplating corporate law, so this is exposure I know I will benefit from later on.
HC: How do you plan on staying involved with IMPULSE in the future?
It’s a quarterly publication so I’m continuously working to contract new clients for the next year and will continue to be one of the leaders on this project. Impulse has given me the opportunity to merge together things that I love: law, journalism, entrepreneurship and U of I.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.