Liberal Arts alumna finds post-graduate success at Harvard Law School

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Thanks to her Penn State education, Nora Van Horn said she gained the tools needed to succeed at one of the country’s premier law schools.

Van Horn, who graduated in 2022 with degrees in philosophy, global and international studies, and Chinese, is currently a student at Harvard Law School. There she discovered a love for consumer protection and antitrust law and has had the opportunity to take once-in-a-lifetime courses with numerous experts in their fields.

“My favorite academic experience has been taking classes with Catharine MacKinnon,” Van Horn said. “She’s a political theorist on sexual equality and was the first person to develop sexual harassment as a legal claim. I’ve been able to learn about modern sexual inequality straight from the person who pioneered the field.”

So far, Van Horn, who is originally from Loretto, Pennsylvania, has completed two successful internships while in law school — one in the Tennessee Office of the Attorney General and Reporter, where she worked on the multi-state lawsuit against Meta, and the other at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC).

Last year, Van Horn was the recipient of the NCLC’s first-ever Stuart Rossman Fellowship, which was created in 2023 in honor of Rossman, who served as the NCLC’s director of litigation for 24 years.

Van Horn said the fellowship was an “amazing honor” that allowed her to develop many skills and connections.

“I know Stuart personally, and he’s a terrific litigator and dedicated mentor,” Van Horn said. “He’s retired but continues to teach at Harvard and Northeastern. This fellowship was the best retirement gift he could have given. He’s dedicated to preparing future students.”

Prior to enrolling at Harvard, Van Horn made her mark at Penn State as a student in the College of the Liberal Arts and the Schreyer Honors College. Living in Schreyer housing was a great experience that prepared her well for law school, she said.

“Living with other people who are so committed to making the world a better place was incredible motivation,” Van Horn said. “We all supported each other so much and were able to think critically about how to pursue our passions and improve the world around us.”

While on campus, she also was involved in Penn State Forward, an organization that helps to run and elect candidates to the Penn State Board of Trustees. She said the experience was fundamental to building her network and developing her interest in a law career.

“I met so many alumni who wanted to help me while in this position. I learned a lot about how institutions work, how to motivate people and how to bring them together,” said Van Horn, who is still involved with the organization today.

She explained that her success would not have been possible without the help and support of the faculty and programs in the College of the Liberal Arts, for which she served as the college marshal at the spring 2022 commencement ceremony.

“The support from faculty was instrumental,” Van Horn said. “I was able to study abroad in China, and my professors within the Mandarin Chinese program supported me. I was able to learn about an entirely new culture and really improve my Mandarin.”

She also said that each of her three majors played an important role in her education. While all three are very different, there was a “through line” that made her academics come full circle, she said.

“They’re all so different but altogether exposed me to different ways to think about the world,” Van Horn said. “Philosophy allowed me to think about the ‘why’ of the world, while global and international studies allowed me to apply these thoughts internationally. Having a Chinese major also allowed me to compare the culture here in the United States to something completely different. I’ve been able to apply my teachings from each of these three to law school, and it’s been incredibly helpful.”

Van Horn will graduate from Harvard Law School in May and will take the bar exam later this summer. She said she hopes to practice consumer protection law.