Sohail Mirza

Why FSU?

Working full-time and shifting accommodations regularly on request from my employer required me to pursue an asynchronous online program. Being a Florida resident and having graduated as a chemistry major from down the road at the University of West Florida made the Juris Master at FSU the easy choice to pursue legal studies. Go Noles!

Motivation to pursue a graduate degree

The Juris Master Program offered a variety of topics geared toward the intersection of law and business. Being able to take classes in healthcare, cybersecurity, and financial regulation has opened my eyes to the three-dimensional landscape of business, which is rooted in the principles of law, governance, and risk management. This program has helped me better understand business administration from a legal point of view.

Importance and/or impact of research and work

Working as a scientist in a chemistry laboratory requires strict compliance with rules and regulations that are in place to ensure safety and accurate data reporting. However, working as a manager of a chemistry laboratory requires a broader scope. It’s important for me to accurately assess and manage risk.

Describe an aspect of your military service that is especially memorable or exceptional

I never thought a year after graduating from UWF, I would get the chance to oversee a US Air Force quality control laboratory located in an allied nation tasked with testing aviation fuel and cabin air to ensure aircraft safety of flight and quality control of firefighter breathing air. This has been my most memorable experience, having taught me the importance of being attentive to details and the importance of being able to represent the US to partner countries.

Tell us how your military service provided skills and experiences that you were able to apply to your graduate studies

As an Air Force scientist, it has been remarkable to see how we are continuing to make breakthroughs in science, especially by integrating commercial methods to derive solutions. The research techniques I gained from designing experiments that were required to be compliant with our governance ethics requirements combined with the compliance requirements involved in government contracting both directly impacted my studies by providing real-world scenarios to better understand the legal risk management framework of this program.

Career aspirations

I’ve started studying information technology by working toward the CompTIA triad certifications and hope to leverage the Juris Master degree to continue learning compliance topics and other IT principles shrouded in the legal framework to better field decision-makers' risk management strategies.

Advice for anyone considering graduate school

As with anything, you need to find the answer as to why you plan to pursue something above the status quo and if you will be happy with working to complete it. That way, when it starts getting tough, you won't take the easy way out and quite—rather you'll be able to answer why you initially signed up to pursue it.