Muhammad Ansab (JD 2019), Cheryl Anne Stacey Barlow Bursary Hometown: Toronto, ON / Faisalabad, Pakistan
Undergraduate degree: Bachelor of Commerce, Public Accounting Specialist and Minor in Economics Undergraduate institution: University of Toronto, Trinity College The law has interested me since I was in middle school. Being a lawyer does not only give you a career, but arms you with information on how the legal structure in society works, the expertise to navigate through legal challenges yourself and to guide others through them. The law affects our society’s structure, reflects its values and upholds our principles. Being a part of this structure and having a career where I can apply my analytical abilities are why I wanted to be a lawyer. U of T Law was the school where I was confident that I would receive the best quality of instruction and which would open the most doors for me. The school has earned a reputation for both excellence in teaching and in making sure their graduates get the best opportunities regardless of their area of interest or choice of practice area. Law school has been a wonderful experience for me. It has allowed me to grow academically, professionally, and as a person. The student community in law school has also been very welcoming, and I have made many great friends here. U of T law has fulfilled its role of preparing me in all aspects for entering the legal profession. I am going to be articling at a large Bay street firm, so in the immediate future I will be using it to build a solid foundation in business law. In the medium and long term, I wish to use my law degree to effect social change, whether that be through providing my expertise and resources to causes and organizations I support, by entering politics, or applying to enter the judiciary (whichever I think would be most effective at that point in time). Receiving the bursary has made law school affordable for me and has reduced my graduation debt. Without this bursary, I would not have been able to afford law school, and therefore attend it. Receiving my bursary has allowed me the opportunity to become a lawyer pursue my goals, and has had a huge impact on my life. I would like to express my gratitude towards my donors for contributing towards my legal education and I would like to tell them that their donation has allowed me to remain in law school and pursue my goals. I would also like to request them to continue making contributions in the future, so that more students like me are able to attend law school and are not deprived of the opportunity to enter the legal profession solely based on how much tuition they can afford to pay. Financial aid is extremely important. It not only allows students like me to afford attending law school, but also helps diversify students’ choice of careers by decreasing their debt load. With a lower student debt, students can more easily chose areas of law that they are interested in but pay a smaller starting wage. They are less likely to be forced into a practice area that they are not interested in, but that they are forced to choose because of debt repayment concerns. I would tell alumni of the impact that financial aid has had on my life. Through the continuous contributions of donors, I—and students like me—were able to attend law school and pursue our passion. Had it not been for those donors, I would not have been able to go to law school and be at the place I am right now. The impact of financial aid is enormous to the lives of students like me, and any contribution that you could make would help more people like us achieve our goals. 
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