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Last November, 3L Samuel Filiaggi, a JD and MMA student, enjoyed a Friendsgiving dinner at a table of peers and faculty at an event co-sponsored by the LGBT+Alliance and the Mental Health Club. It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious but that isn’t what really stood out to him. 

Filiaggi, the Alliance's treasurer, a transgender man, said, "I knew that for some people there, this was the only place where they could bring their whole selves to the table." A major reason he is becoming a lawyer is to serve as a resource and an advocate for others in the LGBT+ community. 

Although his own experience pursuing gender-affirming treatment in Rhode Island was straightforward, Filiaggi still describes it as "overwhelming" and is keenly aware of how, in other states, people face significant roadblocks and rights violations. 

"One of the things that pointed me towards law school was the idea of becoming someone who can push for change in issues of inequality. I want to be someone other people go to for help," he said. 

Filiaggi didn't have any clue that a legal career was in his future while he was studying Marine Affairs as an undergraduate at the University of Rhode Island. His experience included  with the Williams-Mystic Coastal and Ocean Studies Program.

In fact, after hands-on work as a crew member aboard the program's tall ship, Filiaggi took a job as a fisheries observer for scallop fishing vessels in conjunction with the (NOAA). Crushed, he had to quit after experiencing a severe asthma attack triggered by poor air quality aboard. 

Weighing his future options during the pandemic, Filiaggi realized he could still dedicate his career to protecting the natural environment by pivoting to become a lawyer. He took the LSAT and applied to schools almost immediately. 

"I attended an admitted students day at RWU Law and spoke with Dean Michael Donnelly-Boylen," Filiaggi said. "I was shaking. After three years of searching, I knew I had found where I needed to be and where I would be taught what I needed to learn."