“A few months ago I graduated from Harvard Law School with an LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree. Being a Harvard alumnus and a Fulbright alumnus are two of the most distinguished titles in the world. Superlatives simply run out if one tries to describe the full Harvard experience and the opportunities it offers. Harvard Law School has been the peak of my professional career as a lawyer thus far. This place can inspire you, open new horizons and force you to grow, but at the same time, it can get under your skin in ways you cannot possibly foresee.

During my LL.M. year I have learned a tremendous amount from world-renowned professors and experts about the U.S. democracy, the Constitution and the American legal system in general. I have studied hundreds of Supreme Court opinions and read thousands of pages of textbooks, treatises and articles. I took classes on Constitutional History, First Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Separation of Powers, Federalism, Legal Theory and Political Economy, just to mention a few; and after each class, I thought „wow, that was something new, I had never thought of it in that way before!” I had the privilege to meet Nobel laureates, Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Canada, judges of the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court, state officials from different countries, senators, ambassadors, attorneys from big law firms and countless distinguished professors from other universities. I made lifelong friendships with exceptional individuals from countries all over the world. I managed to adjust to peculiar law school teaching methods, the extreme Cambridge weather, the interesting American cuisine, and I learned to appreciate American football (or at least I tried). In addition, as a Fulbright scholar and the only Hungarian at HLS, I tried to embrace the role of a cultural ambassador, and explain occasionally to faculty and colleagues the current Hungarian political situation, our historical background, cultural habits and the basics of our constitutional and legal structure—preferably over a fine, homemade palinka.

In a place as grandiose as Harvard, there will inevitably be moments when you feel like you are insignificant, lost, intimidated, or overwhelmed by expectations, course requirements and financial difficulties. But in these character-building moments, you can also learn an important lesson about how to deal with your vulnerabilities and weaknesses under pressure. These tough moments are great opportunities to find people, share your concerns with them, listen to them and learn from them. Eventually, you may even realize that you found a family away from home and you are not alone anymore; and having these mixed feelings only means that you are human, not a robot. In those precious moments, however, when you actually manage to overcome an obstacle, complete a hard task or achieve an important goal at HLS, you will feel like you can fly.

I have learned that it takes a whole bunch of people to lift someone up. Thus, I am immensely grateful to my family, my wonderful fiancée, my friends and colleagues for believing in me, helping me, and for the sacrifices they made for me. I would like to thank Fulbright Hungary, the Rosztoczy Foundation, the Hungarian American Coalition and the Constitutional Court of Hungary for their continuous support, without which I could never have studied at Harvard. I would also like to thank my professors and mentors for sharing their wisdom with me and inspiring me to pursue ambitious goals.”