PPE Alum Spotlight: Davis Rosser

The Kellogg Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics is proud to feature Davis Rosser, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics graduate (Class of 2020), as he discusses law school, his career, and more.

Davis, can you tell us about your academic history and extra-curriculars when you were a student at Virginia Tech?

I graduated from Virginia Tech in Spring 2020 with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. While at Virginia Tech, I was the president of the PPE Club at Virginia Tech, an ambassador for the PPE program, and a member of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity.

After graduating from Virginia Tech, I began law school at Brooklyn Law School – where I was invited to join the Moot Court Honor Society and the Brooklyn Journal of Law and Policy. I completed my law degree in Spring 2024. I am certain that my time in the PPE program played a major role in fostering the reading, writing, and analytical skills necessary to succeed in law school.

Can you tell us about your experience applying to law school?

I applied to several schools, but ultimately decided to attend Brooklyn Law for several reasons. In addition to scholarship and housing opportunities, I spoke to several alumni who emphasized the importance of proximity between school and job opportunities.

This advice came to be true as I had multiple unique internships and externships as a student at Brooklyn Law School. Throughout my three years at Brooklyn Law, I worked as a judicial intern for both federal and state judges, a research assistant for two professors, an intern at a mid-sized law firm, and an intern in the Eastern District of New York. Further, I was published in the Brooklyn Journal of Law and Policy (“Climate Change and the Death of the Administrative State?: West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency“).

Can you tell us a little about your career, post law school?

I am currently practicing criminal law as an Assistant District Attorney in the Special Victim’s Division at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

How do you think that PPE helped set you up for success?

The PPE program stretches a student’s critical thinking skills and draws these out practically, through both discussion and writing based assignments. In addition to the PPE program’s opportunities to grow academically, the program exposed me to students and faculty from backgrounds I would not be exposed to otherwise. As a political science major, I seldom interacted with students or faculty from other colleges. However, through the coursework and events offered by the PPE program, I was able to exchange ideas with those outside of the “bubble” of the college of liberal arts and human sciences.

I believe that this inter-disciplinary approach has improved my ability to objectively analyze issues and facts presented – an essential skill to being a good lawyer.

What advice would you give to current PPE students?

Take every opportunity that comes your way! You are at a stage where it is okay (and encouraged) to try different things and fail (or just decide that the path you originally thought was for you turns out not to be the right one).

(Photo Credit Davis Rosser – Used with Permission)