Starting law school as a parent, spouse, business owner and someone who moved across the country is an experience I never saw advertised on admissions brochures. I am not the typical straight-through student, and if you are not either, I hope this gives you an honest picture of what life at the University of Kansas School of Law can look like when your responsibilities extend far beyond Green Hall.

I. "I'll Never See My Family"

Before starting 1L, I genuinely believed I would barely see my wife and kids. I pictured long nights in Green Hall, relentless stress and a version of law school where family life simply had to disappear for three years. I was wrong, but not in the way I expected.

The reality is not that law school magically leaves room for everything. It does not. But I have learned how powerful intentionality and scheduling are. When I walk through the door at home, I put my phone away. I leave my computer and books closed unless they absolutely must be opened. We have a set dinner time that is rarely missed. These habits are simple, but they protect the relationships that matter most to me.

What I did not fully appreciate when I enrolled was how much of the weight my wife would carry quietly so that I could focus. On the days I come home at 7 or 8 p.m., she has already handled dinner prep, baths and bedtime routines with the kind of calm and consistency that our kids need. She does this without complaint and without keeping score. I notice it every single day, and I do not take a moment of it for granted. None of this works without her.

Being present at home depends less on schoolwork itself and more on the boundaries I choose to set. If anything, law school pushed me to become more deliberate with my time rather than letting the workload quietly take over every part of my life.

II. A Day in My Life (The Real Version)

Most days follow a steady rhythm, but I would be lying if I said every day looks the same. Case in point: the very day I began outlining this blog post, I had mandatory mediation training at the law school that forced me to reschedule a recurring weekly meeting for my business. What was supposed to be a manageable Tuesday turned into a stretch from before 8 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. with almost no break. Then, as if to drive the lesson home even further, the day I sat down to revise this draft, my youngest got sick and spent the evening at the hospital. Nothing serious, but it was a full stop on any plans I had made.

On that hospital night, my wife handled everything with my youngest and I had to handle the house and our other child’s evening, while still trying to close out a school day in my head. Days like that are few and far between, but when they come, you find out quickly what your support system is made of. You adapt, you recover and you move on.

Morning (at home)

My day starts early. I eat breakfast with my kids and spend intentional time with them for about half an hour before everything gets moving. That small window of connection sets the tone for the day. Then it is off to school between 7:30 and 8 a.m., a routine I have kept for years and one that has not changed much just because I am now also a law student.

Morning (at school)

Before classes begin, mornings on campus are all about reading and preparation. Depending on the day, this gives me anywhere from two to four hours to work through assigned reading, review notes or get ahead on the next day. Classes typically start between 9:15 and 11:25 a.m.

Midday

Most middays, I am in class. If not, there is a strong chance I am on the fourth floor preparing. When the weather in Lawrence cooperates, which is often, I eat lunch outside with friends before heading back into the afternoon. Some days, I am ahead on reading. Other days, I am frantically catching up before the next class. Both are real.

Afternoon

After classes, I usually prepare for the next day, work through assignments or handle tasks for my business. Some afternoons, this takes an hour. Others, like the mediation training day, everything compresses into one long marathon block. The range is wide, and learning to work within it is part of the first year.

Evening

Once I am home, I am home. I aim to walk through the door before 6 p.m., but some days it is 7 or 8 p.m. Some days it is 3 or 4 p.m. Law school is variable, and I have accepted that.

Evenings are for family. We eat dinner together every night. Afterward, we clean up, get the kids showered and begin bedtime routines. They are usually in bed around 8 to 8:30 p.m., which gives my wife and me about an hour and a half to clean up, decompress, reset the house and prepare for the next day.

I keep this rhythm six days a week. Saturdays are reserved for family time, LSU football (or baseball, depending on the time of year) and exploring the wild side of Kansas.

When I step back and look at all of it honestly, this is not that different from working a normal 8-to-5 job while running a side business. Which is exactly what I was doing before law school. If you have managed that, you can manage this.

III. The Three Things I Worried About Most (and What Actually Happened)

1. Time Management

I thought I was good at managing time before law school. Law school forced me to become excellent at it, quickly. You learn to maximize small windows, plan further ahead than feels necessary and treat every hour with intention. The long days and the unexpected ones are not obstacles. They are practical training. And on the days when time management fails entirely, my wife picks up whatever I had to put down. That safety net is not something every student has, and I am deeply grateful for it.

2. Belonging

I expected to feel like the odd one out. I was not even close to being the odd one out. Within the first few weeks, I had met other parents, other spouses juggling a household while studying, other business owners and other career changers who left something substantial behind to be here. My circumstances, which felt so unusual from the outside, turned out to be genuinely common inside these walls. KU Law is full of people who chose this path later, with more behind them and more on the line.

The school values that experience too. Professors frequently pause class discussion to ask whether anyone has worked in a particular industry or lived through a relevant situation, genuinely looking for the student who can bring that perspective into the room. That happens more often than I expected, and it changes the dynamic of learning entirely.

3. Performance Anxiety

Life experience helps here more than I can overstate. I have managed stress before, and I know the difference between what I can control and what I cannot. My standard of success is effort. If I put in the work, I am content with the result. Law school provides very few immediate markers of progress, which can be disorienting. Creating your own benchmarks is not optional. It is necessary.

IV. A Practical Guide for Parents Considering KU Law

1. Build a Routine Early

Kids thrive on consistency, and it turns out, so do 1Ls. Establishing a predictable rhythm early in the semester makes everything more stable, especially when unexpected days come along and knock things sideways.

2. Communicate What You Need

Professors, support faculty and classmates cannot know your circumstances unless you tell them. The same is true at home. Communicating clearly with your spouse or partner about time, stress and expectations is the foundation that everything else rests on. The household only runs smoothly when everyone knows what is actually going on.

3. Protect Your Family Time

If you do not carve out time for your family, law school will take it without hesitation. Closing the casebook at dinner is not a concession. It is a choice that keeps the most important things intact.

4. Lean on KU's Community

Classmates, study groups, the Career Services Office, older students and, most importantly, professors have all been helpful in ways I did not fully anticipate. The professors at KU Law support their students in a way I had not seen at prior universities, and that support matters tremendously when your plate is already full before the semester begins.

5. Do Not Compare Yourself to 22-Year-Olds

Your life stage is different from a large portion of your classmates, and that cuts both ways. They have energy, flexibility and freedom from obligation that you probably envy some days. But you have discipline, perspective and urgency that only comes from life experience. Both are real advantages. Know which ones are yours and lean into them.

V. Why KU Law Was the Right Choice for My Family

Lawrence is a genuinely great place to raise a family. It is safe, affordable and full of outdoor spaces that make it easy to step away from the books and breathe. The city has a lively feel near campus, yet you can be in quiet, rural Kansas within minutes. Kansas City is close enough to give you access to a major metropolitan area without the daily weight of living in one. The public school system is strong, both in Lawrence and across the state, which mattered a great deal to us when we made the decision to move.

The community here has made the transition easier than I expected. People look out for each other, and that same spirit carries into KU. The staff and faculty at the University of Kansas School of Law take student success seriously, not just academically but as a whole.

I needed a place where I could pursue a demanding degree and still be a present husband and dad. Lawrence and KU Law together have allowed me to do exactly that. None of it would mean much, though, without my wife, who uprooted her life, left her own support system and everything familiar, and built something real here for our family in a matter of months. That she did it without hesitation tells you everything you need to know about her.

VI. What I Want Other Parents to Know

If you are a parent, caregiver, spouse, career changer or someone who simply does not fit the stereotype of a traditional law student, you belong here. And you will not be alone. I walked in thinking my situation was unusual. It is not. The parents, the business owners, the career changers, the spouses managing households while studying full time — they are here, and there are more of them than you might expect. Your life experience will help you succeed in ways that are difficult to quantify until you are in the middle of it.

Some days will be long. Some nights will not go as planned. Some weeks will throw things at you that no amount of scheduling can fully prepare you for. That is not a reason to wait. The skills that got you through everything before law school are the same ones that will carry you through it.

And if you have a partner who believes in you the way my wife believes in me, tell them what it means to you. Often. They are doing more than you probably say out loud, and they deserve to hear it.

KU Law has room for you. I am always happy to talk with prospective students who are considering making the same leap my family and I did.

Make the jump.

- Alec Hummel is a 1L KU Law Student Ambassador from West Monroe, Louisiana