Impressions
Bostina Scholarships
Andreea Litean
Four-year student, Law School, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
"The Bostina experience or the courage to step out of anonymity.
Usually, in our mind, every one of us lives under the impression that they are the best, the most beautiful, the most intelligent, the most … on and on. It is only natural as self-trust is a premise for success. However, such perception of oneself becomes autonomous and relevant only when, in a real competition environment, an arbiter recognizes a self as the most capable one and therefore confers credibility and authenticity to the owner of that self. Undoubtedly, the competition for the Bostina Scholarship is a pertinent objective for any law student who wants to break the pattern of a strict academic itinerary, to affiliate themself with the law firm’s good name and to join the BS winners’ community.
Step by step, the Bostina experience reveals aspects of the most diverse. First, the desire to win, translated in practice into laborious research of the proposed topic of debate. Skimming through the titles proposed in years past by the Bostina team, we find as sedes materiae dynamic issues of the civil or trade law, which are highly topical given their frequency on the business market and their chameleonic format imprinted by the Romanian or EU laws and by the specialized practice. Even more, the flexibility of the subject (Public-private partnerships. National and EU perspectives) allowed me to free myself from the rigidity of summary writing for the typical exam and to lay on the computer’s electronic page my own ideas and perspectives, an exercise that proved valuable for my professional development and helped me in preparing my dissertation thesis. However, the direct confrontation with the other participants is the most interesting and demanding phase of the winner’s selection, as the participants will be tested on their discursive persuasion, organization skills, and rhetoric, as well as the capacity to reflect on the controversial aspects of the other papers, so that the ambient is electrifying in its entire development.
Finally, the Bostina Scholarship is a reward of all the invested effort. Satisfaction takes two forms: professional and financial. True, the material aspect is not negligible. The wish to relieve our parents or other supporters of the financial task of our professional development or the pleasure of intelligently spending these financial resources on treaties, monographs or expensive specialized literature or even personal investments can be reason enough to take part in this call for papers. All things considered, however, the Bostina Scholarship is more than a money prize: it is the key to the seemingly closed door of the ever more saturated market of law graduates - a sign of deprofessionalization due to mass academic education. A prize won from Bostina&Associates is a strong point in a resume and it boosts your chances to be selected by potential employers, given the prestigious professional acquis of this entity that continues to offer to the deserving a possibility to step out of anonymity, to overcome their condition and to harness their distinct intellectual qualities. At the same time, it places on the victor’s shoulders the responsibility to evolve and to avoid putting a cap on success, and that because a prize from Bostina&Associates is the seal of success that needs to be maintained.
For me, the Bostina experience is not over. It produces its effects every time I am asked the question that can change the course of my professional existence: why should an employer choose me? One reason is this personal victory: I am a winner of the Bostina Scholarship."
Bogdan-Alexandru Cordos
Fourth-year student, Law School, University of Iasi
"Bostina Scholarships meant a great opportunity for me, even though at the beginning I did not realize it, and perhaps thought more of the financial aspect. However, these scholarships represent more than a potential income for students, and I say this after a year since my participation to this event which really changed my view on the legal profession and my plans for the future.
What do I mean by opportunities? There are several things to consider. First, it must be mentioned that these scholarships represent maybe the first and only contact that the large majority of law students have with business law practice, a branch unfortunately less known and less promoted in the specialized academic environment. Leaving aside the recruitment campaigns that some law firms launch in the academic environment, these scholarships are something entirely different because the selected topics are specific to business legal practice. Secondly, and referring precisely to the Bostina Scholarships topics, I had the opportunity to tackle new subjects, to work on topics slightly different than those taught in the faculty amphitheater, and which require a different type of research than regular essays. What is more, I had the chance to express my point of view on the current legal issues, often not broached in the literature. Lastly, Bostina Scholarships offered me the chance to really see what I am capable of in the legal field, if the years spent in university provided me the capacity to think ‘law-like’ and not just the ability to store hundreds of pages of doctrine. The topics chosen and the way in which they are presented and discussed together with the other students are a good opportunity to put into practice the things you have learned along the four years of study.
We all start on our path with a plan of what we are going to do after graduation, but we often lack the necessary information. Bostina Scholarships offer extra information on the very interesting domain of law practice. Besides, the financial side of the Bostina Scholarships is not to be neglected either. But what mattered most to me was that my opinion and that of my fellow students who took part in 2010 Bostina Scholarships were analyzed and appreciated by experienced lawyers from one of Romania’s most important law firms. There is nothing like feeling professional recognition from a specialist. I strongly encourage you to apply to 2011 Bostina Scholarships, yet not only to win, but especially to take part in this great opportunity offered to law students."
Adrian Cristea
Third-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
"My participation in the 2010 Bostina Scholarships proved to be a unique and extremely useful experience. This is because I had the opportunity to present my paper in front of my fellow students and in front of the jury of lawyers. It was an excellent opportunity to develop my public speaking skills. Furthermore, a strong point was the fact that the persons who delivered their presentations were afterwards asked questions by the other participants, which made everything much more interactive.
I participated in this contest because I was drawn by the topic (the theory of imprevision and commissoria lex ). It was an excellent opportunity to study thoroughly and in detail a certain legal issue, which is easily glossed over during seminars. I believe that the scholarship I obtained is an excellent reference for my employment in the legal system. For this reason, I recommend that every final year student carefully take into consideration this opportunity."
Madalina Grigorovici
Fourth-year student, Law School, University of Iasi
"I found out about the contest organized by Boştină & Associates in my second year of study, while I attended the presentation of my fourth-year colleagues’ papers. I was very impressed with how they approached the contest theme, not at all easily accessible to unexperienced students. And I realized that it was more than a competition… it was a special opportunity to broadly test your legal skills (research methods, persuasive power, argumentative and oratory skills) as well as your level of competitivity and originality, a.s.o.
So I waited unpatiently for the year when I would qualify for the contest. Once the theme announced, I started the race against the clock, gatherered relevant materials and wrote my paper (which meant many hours spent in the library, asking for advice from specialists – lawyers, economists – etc.). My efforts proved worthwhile and I managed to work out my own opinion on the subject. That was the first time that I expressed in public my own judgment about a legal matter, even though part of the doctrine did not come to support my ideas. And that was the best thing about this competition: the freedom to approach a legal issue in the most personal way possible.
My success motivated me to go on even more self-confident and enthusiastic. The first thing I did shortly afterwards was to send my paper to a legal magazine. The positive answer came a few days later – it was to be published in May 2010. I cannot put in words how I felt when I got the news. But I can tell for sure that I felt once more encouraged to get myself a legal career. So how did it all start? With my participation in the „Boştină Grants” contest!
Besides, we must admit that the grant means more financial independence during the last year of study and also a good recommendation for those who want to get a job in the legal industry. Different students want to win the grant for different reasons. However, in my opinion the grant is not about the money or the good impression you might cut on potential employers. It is more about proving yourself that you are about to become a real legal professional. This will definitely help you to set higher standards for yourself and there’s no doubt that money will come with that.
Pargaru Dragos
Fourth-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
First of all, the „Boştină Grants” was a great opportunity to acquire a deeper knowledge of a very interesting private law issue. The thought that I was to compete against other students motivated me to look into the finest details of the subject. Second, the contest was in itself a great challenge and also an excellent occasion to practice our skills of presenting legal matters and solutions before a critical audience. Besides, winning this contest will be one of the strong points in my resume. And last but not least, the monthly grant is a consistent financial support and a sign that my work is appreciated, and therefore an incentive towards other professional successes.
I strongly advise all law students to participate and to invest all their efforts in this competition, and I promise it will be a worthwhile experience. I also encourage „Boştină & Associates” to continue with this event in the future, as the Romanian students need incentives towards intense study and professionalism”.
Cristian Paziuc
Third-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
"What I would like to say is that the Boştină Grants are undoubtedly an additional and extremely important financial support, not only for the direct costs of the academic activity, but also – and probably most of all – for the development of a comfortable framework for student activity in general. It is common knowledge that high performance usually requires a proper activity framework.”
Ioana Lucia Grigoriu
Third-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
"I am delighted to speak about this and I congratulate Boştină & Associates on their initiative, which enhanced my belief that I have taken my first solid steps on the way to a legal career and that I have been guided by a team of lawyers with very high professional standards.
Even though my career is just beginning, I think I was offered a great opportunity to get in touch with the business law industry, to meet talented people and to convince myself once more that I have chosen the right path."
Cristina Stanca
Fourth-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
The ”Boştină Grant” was a great challenge for me, all the way from theme announcement to project presentation. I wanted to have the best project and I ended up growing a passion for the practical side of stock exchange transactions. And if we take into account Romania’s economic situation, the material motivation is worth mentioning, too!
I wish the best of luck to all those willing to take this challenge and to thank „Boştină & Associates” for their material support!"
Nona Stefanescu
Third-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
"I should start by saying that my involvement with the Boştină Grants did not happen by chance. I had been waiting for the event ever since my freshman year, when I heard about it for the first time and found out that only third- and four-year students were eligible for the contest.
In my third year of study I started to work for the grant, and found myself faced with several challenges, i.e. the research specific to a completely new domain or the preparation and the presentation of my paper.
I entered the contest and then I won. The fact presented me with the opportunity to collaborate with one of the most prestigious Romanian law firms and to get familiarized with the legal profession. Connecting so early with the industry is a great chance for any student.
Winning the grant enhanced my belief that hard work and courage will bring about professional and material reward.
Last but not least I want to thank the law firm for its help.”
Madalina Vlase
Four-year student, Law School, University of Bucharest
"I became interested in the Boştină Grants because they appeared to be a useful and genuine simulation of the ordinary activity of a legal professional, from two different perspectives:
First, because it brings to attention up-to-date inedite legal themes, bordering other fields, such as banking, finances, informatics a.s.o.. Only rarely does today’s practice raise issues that are exclusively legal, as most often the legal relationships interconnect with social realities deriving from other domains, due to modern man’s ever more complex needs.
Due to this intense interdiciplinarity, the proposed themes are only little, if at all approached by the doctrine and, just like in practice, you have to deal with loads of legal literature, most often extremely technical. Consequently, you should ignore your prior knowledge and resort to the legal lines of reasoning developed along the years of study. It is a great challenge that will compell you to let go of legal stereotypes and sift the information through your own mind.
By doing so, you will develop skills that are mandatory for successful legal professionals, irrespective of their exact specialization. The law school will not build in students the capacity to analyze and synthethize. But they can develop it when trying to cover all relevant aspects of the contest theme wthin a limited space. Moreover, the oral presentation develops oratorical capabilities that are vital for any legal professional. But what matters most is the capacity to see things beyond the legal framework, more exactly to identify the actual consequences of a legal rule and how they translate into the everyday life of the parties concerned.
To conclude with, my participation in the Boştină Grants was an intellectual challenge but also a joyful success."
Samu Aron
Four-year student, Law School, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
"Being associated from your university years with such an important name of the Romanian legal market – i.e. Boştină & Associates – opens the door to many opportunities, like for example a summer internship at a law firm. I wish I could have engaged in two such projects in the summer of 2009, but the way too intense activity with Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Peterson made it impossible for me to concomitantly collaborate with Boştină & Associates. However, I consider that my internship at NNDKP was to a large extent due to the Grant presented to me by Boştină & Associates.
My success placed me at an advantage in the selection of the winner of a 5-month Erasmus Grant in Italy, during the first semester of the 2009-2010 university year. It was very important to me and I am positive it had an important bearing on my admission to the advanced studies program that I am currently attending (with full scholarship, a very rare type of financing for studies in the United States of America) at Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
The fact that I had acquired solid researching and paper writing competences, and the appreciation that my work enjoyed among the highly qualified and demanding jury prompted me to start working on another paper with publishing potential. My decision materialized in a study on the Appeal in the Interest of the Law in the Context of the Consitutional and Legal Framework, published in issue no. 3/2009 of the caselaw series of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai (partly dedicated to Mr. Doru Catalin Bostina, attorney-at-law, as a token of my gratitude).
Last but not least my experience with this demanding and competitive event prepared me for other national and international similar events that I attended subsequently. I know that not only I, but all the other 2008 contestants see it as a valuable challenge. It is a fact that each and every one of us was by default the winner of a great prize, consisting of the experience that we gained.
Thank you again for giving me the honor of being the first Transylvanian winner of a Boştină Grant and allow me to express my immense gratitude.”
Andreea Gorgan
Four-year student, Law School, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj
The "Boştină Grant” is more than what its name might call to mind and represents much more than just a sum of money (actually a quite significant one). It is first and foremost a confirmation of your value, a motivator for young graduates that are still hesitant and without direction. Besides what it represents money-wise, it is the validation of your personal worth, a pat on the shoulder that will encourage you to approach future with your head up high.
Reward
Winning a Boştină Grant brings about incredible outcomes. I won one at the right time and it positively impacted my self-confidence, motivation and will to persevere, as after 3 years of study my ambition and enthusiasm from the early beginning had started to fade out. In think that in most cases the school does not reward students to the extent of their efforts. In time, the fact turns into frustration and discouragement. Winning the grant helped me to get over the uncertainties and fears that were overwhelming me faster and faster. And that’s what counted most to me.
Just the opposite, the efforts invested in the grant program are generously rewarded. I can’t say that my only catalyst was winning the contest. However you may look at it, the material prize is a powerful motivation. A monthly €200 is more than alluring and I think this amount is unprecedented among Romanian grants. The time of law students is very precious and whenever we consider engaging in a project, we calculate carefully the related opportunity costs. But the Boştină Grant is very generous, so it is beyond question that it is worth investing a few weeks in it. We are talking here about €200 a month that the winner can use free of any conditions or limitations.
Motivation
As my time in law school was drawing to an end, my prospects appeared ever grimmer and despite my efforts to pluck up my courage, the world around me came to enhance my gloomy perspective on future. I felt that all doors were closed. Every time I knocked on one of them, I had to provide my resume and my transcript. This is how performance and potential are assessed on the Romanian market. You are applied these eliminatory criteria and you never have the chance to say „let me tell you what I…”
It is even more frustrating that the scoring/evaluation system is quite relative. Scores reflect too little of the students’ level of knowledge and should not be an essential selection criterion. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the the scores gained in school were irrelevant for the Boştină Grant. This contest is the only one that rules out formalities and student assessment relies on the accomplished work, with no other external references.
I found the requirements for the drafting of the paper just as impressive. No minimum number of pages was provided (on the contrary, a maximum limit of pages was recommended) and no form requirements - so often invoked in other circumstances, such as minimum bibliography, footnotes, structure, etc. - were indicated.
When I had to draft similar works in other circumstances, everybody overlooked the essence and got stuck in form requirements. But now we were requested to be original and to disregard the traditional and formal bareers imposed in school. We were supposed to express our own opinions as we saw fit for persuasion purposes. They chose a theme that was a rich source of debate and that was not just a matter of mere research. I can’t forget that „it was not about right or wrong answers, but only about well-argued opinions”. It is so encouraging to see that you are expected to do things your own original wayl and you are given the liberty to express your opinion, whatever that may be.
This program provides students with the opportunity to prove their competences outside irrelevant and inflexible scoring schemes, and to benefit from individual, open-minded assessment. It is good to hear that your scores do not define you and that you are given the chance to prove your true worth. So I think very highly of the grant program created by Boştină & Associates, both for its offer and for the selection criteria. Unfortunately, the program is one of a kind. But that is why it is so much more worthy of appreciation.
Opportunity.
One of the greatest things about this program is the chance to connect with one of the most important Romanian law firms. When in Law School, this is just a remote and unattainable objective, and you do not even dare to think about it. And once you start to grope for a job and send your resume, you will feel completely discouraged and ready to give up such unrealistic ambitions. But the grant means an internship within a law office. Thus, you will find yourself working in a job you have been chasing for so long with strenuous efforts. Take advantage of this internship and you will be given the opportunity to see the backstage activity of an important law firm.
I did so and I learnt more than I learnt in university. I realized that there is a big difference between theory and practice and that the professional minuses of young graduates are many. It is like starting all over again. But I am no longer discouraged, since I am positive that I am going the right way.
