Miguel Leff
Leff left his native Mexico City in 1994 and a year later applied to Colby despite not knowing where Maine was. "My mom and I flew to Augusta and drove to Waterville. It was the first time my mom ever saw snow and we were driving in a blizzard," he recalled. The admissions office was closed when they arrived, so Leff and his mother decided to make snow angels in a drift nearby. It was the beginning of a love affair with Colby. Linda Cotter, associate director of off-campus studies, remembers meeting Leff at a reception for first-year students the following fall. "His openness, his warmth, his delight in being here were immediately evident," she said.
Leff attacked his studies with fervor in his first semester, earning a 3.85 GPA. "But, I thought, this is not what Colby's about," he said. "You need to find a balance." That semester he became a U.S. citizen, decided to take Japanese (he eventually minored in it) and received a prestigious internship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He worked that summer as an aide and speech writer for Congressman Bob Filnerfrom Chula Vista, the California city where Leff's family relocated. "He did so well in the internship," said Cotter, "that the congressman tried to persuade him to accept a full-time position."
The following summer Leff secured a position with the deputy city attorney of San Diego, Makini Hammond. He worked in the criminal division, translating documents, writing briefs and being part of a team responsible for several convictions. "One time I was in court and we were trying to prosecute this guy who had driven three times under the influence of alcohol," Leff said. "I was sitting next to the attorney, but of course I couldn't speak because I didn't have a license, and I was passing notes like crazy. I just felt this rage and passion to stand up and prosecute this guy, and I thought, `Maybe I'd like a law degree.'"
Leff decided in his junior year, despite his conviction that law was his destiny, to experience life in the business world. He studied at the London School of Economics and in November was a guest speaker at a Colby fund-raising event in London, where he exchanged greetings with Colby alumnus Charles Hogan '73, vice president of investments at Merrill Lynch. "I wrote a very aggressive letter telling him that I wanted an internship. I told him that I would call in ten days to confirm that he received the letter and to see if he wanted to give me an interview," Leff said. Ten days passed, Leff called, got his interview--and the internship. He worked in portfolio management at Merrill Lynch, and though he enjoyed it immensely, he says, the experience did not dissuade him from a career in law.
"Thank God I got into law school," said Leff, who plans to attend Vanderbilt next fall. "I want to do something for this legal system. Though it's not perfect, we can work with it and fix it. I'm now struggling with whether I want to become an international lawyer or a criminal lawyer. I can see myself someday being an attorney general or Supreme Court justice."
Lofty goals, but if his Colby experience is any indication, Leff is on the right track. He has allies and fans in virtually every department at Colby. Assistant Professor of Mathematics Leo Livshits, who also happens to be Leff's favorite professor, calls him, "the mathematical equivalent of a pit bull." Leff says Livshits "is my friend, my professor and the guy who's most influenced my life here."
"The best part about Colby is the professors and the staff. They know you, they want to help you, they have faith in you," Leff said. "I think the decision to come to Colby was the wisest decision I've made in my life. Colby has helped me decide what I want from my professional and personal life, what I want for values. That's something I'm going to carry with me."
Text by Jodi Beznoska '98