Alum Spotlight: Rachel Rutstein '21
During her junior year of high school, Rachel came to campus to visit a friend and immediately fell in love with the Barnard community. “It was the first time I’d been in a place where I was like, ‘I want to be friends with all of you.’ It’s always been the people that made Barnard stand out the most. Everyone just cares a lot about Barnard, and are really empathetic, kind people who are passionate and inspiring and change-makers.”
Throughout her time on campus, Rachel’s interests and career aspirations were shaped by the people at Barnard, especially by her professors. “Barnard was very helpful in how I realized I wanted to go to law school,” she says. As an art history major, she took “Collecting” with Anne Higonnet. “That’s when I first learned about [the history of] art that had been stolen; I was really interested because I loved art and the cultural aspects of it.” The class ultimately led Rachel to an interest in art law and a desire to receive an interdisciplinary legal education, which she wrote about in her application to Cardozo Law School. At Cardozo, she was able to continue her journey from Barnard and refine the areas of law she was passionate about, getting involved in the Art Law Society as well as the Family Law Society and Women’s Law Initiative. She first discovered her interest in these fields by taking classes at Columbia Law School like “Gender Justice.” This class was the first time she read through case law to discuss different aspects of women’s rights. The professor, Katherine Franke ‘81, even wrote one of her reference letters for her law school applications.
“Barnard professors are so cool,” Rachel says, adding that her major advisor, Professor Rosalyn Deutsche, was not only there as a support system but as academic inspiration. “We’re still in touch. We would talk about my thesis, but also Netflix. She was also a top scholar on the artist that I wrote about. It was so cool to be able to know her so intimately and then be able to refer to her work in my thesis. Professors [at Barnard] are just oozing with wisdom and experience.”
One of the most instrumental parts of Barnard for Rachel was and continues to be the alumnae network, which not only supported her applications to law school, but has also introduced her to her best friends and led her to her current job. While applying to law school in 2020, she truly leaned into the Barnard alumnae community. “I couldn’t visit any schools in the way you would normally do, so I went on LinkedIn, like Beyond Barnard had taught me, and looked for Barnard alumnae who were current students at law schools I was applying to. I cold-emailed all of them, and within a week, I had maybe a dozen Zoom calls lined up.” Even after graduating from Barnard, Rachel continues to connect with other alumnae. “There’s a very big Barnard population at Cardozo, which I love. Even my best friend was [actually] in my year at Barnard, but we didn’t meet each other until we got here.” The Barnard network also helped Rachel get connected to her mentor, Harriet Newman Cohen ‘52: “She’s a superhero. She is the top family, matrimonial, and divorce lawyer in the city. I worked for her throughout [law] school and now will work for her as an associate at Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP.” Cohen’s daughter, Amy Cohen ‘76, also works at the firm.
While at Barnard, Rachel was a member of Athena Pre-Law Society, where she received mentorship from Columbia Law School students. Now as an alum, she supports five current pre-law students as an advisor through a new Beyond Barnard initiative. “It’s a really cool thing that is offered, and so nice to be able to talk to and help them throughout the [pre-law] process.” She also volunteers as a Barnard Alumnae Admissions Representative, allowing her to connect with prospective and admitted students. As for what’s next, Rachel is extremely excited about starting her post-grad chapter, and maybe even naming her second dog Millie, in honor of Barnard’s mascot.
Rachel encourages prospective students to get a sense of Barnard’s community by meeting students or hanging around campus. “If you have the chance to visit, just literally sit in Liz’s Place, and without being creepy, kind of eavesdrop on conversations and listen to what people are talking about. I think that gives you a sense of the people.”
Source: Interview conducted by Gaby Viner ‘24