History grad has her eyes set on law school

Julia Resciniti knew she wanted to go to RIT and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) since she was in sixth grade. Now, after fast-tracking her undergraduate education, she is confident she made the right choice.

Resciniti, who is graduating from RIT with a bachelor’s degree in history, is set to begin the next phase of her education at Syracuse University College of Law this fall. Her goal is to leverage her expertise in history to become a disability lawyer and policy advocate.

“What I liked most about the history program here is that it has a lot of Deaf and disability studies courses where you can work with NTID’s Liberal Studies Department,” said Resciniti, from Pittsburgh. “Those classes really helped me understand the cultural and historical backgrounds of the communities that I would like to work with in my future career.” 

Resciniti found her niche in the College of Liberal Arts’ Accelerated 3+3 Law Program and said that being involved with the community was a great benefit to her. Typically, it would take seven years for a student to earn an undergraduate degree and Juris Doctor. The 3+3 program allows students to finish both degrees in six years by counting a student’s first year in law school toward their final year at RIT. However, due to her good academic standing and hard work, she earned her RIT degree in just three years, prior to starting her law degree.

While studying for her undergraduate degree, Resciniti witnessed in real time the importance of having cultural competency when advocating for marginalized communities.

In 2023, through talking with members of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community on campus, Resciniti learned about a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The complaint called on the agency to “investigate the Delaware Department of Education’s systemic discrimination against deaf and hard-of-hearing youth,” but it received backlash from Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing communities nationwide.

The complaint highlighted Listening and Spoken Language therapy as the “gold standard” when teaching communication skills to hard-of-hearing and deaf children, and the ACLU’s language surrounding it discredited other teaching methods, according to an article by Delaware Public Media. The complaint was amended in June 2024, but the situation had a lasting effect on Resciniti.

“I really looked at that and thought that the ACLU should have had somebody that is culturally informed draft the complaint in the first place. I don't think there would have been nearly as much backlash if they had deaf people contributing on the team to start with,” said Resciniti.

Resciniti fast-tracked her academics, but she didn’t let that keep her from getting involved on campus. During her first year at RIT, Resciniti helped revitalize the Mock Trial Club and served as treasurer of the organization. She was also involved with RIT’s Pre-Law Society, the RIT Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA), the Disability Culture Club, and the Hooks and Needles Club.

In addition to club involvement, Resciniti conducted research in the Stack / Whitney Entomology, Environment and Technology (SWEET) Col(LAB)oratory. In 2025, she gave a TEDxRIT talk about her research on how the inclusion of disabled professionals in the legal, medical, and architectural fields could promote innovation and inspire a more compassionate future.

“The opportunities to work with others through clubs and cross-department projects have been helpful. I went to an online high school, so I didn’t really have the chance to go and network in-person. Now, I have a pretty big network of people that I can reach out to if I need help or support,” said Resciniti.

When reflecting on her journey to law school, Resciniti said that working with Jennifer Gaylord, pre-professional studies coordinator and academic advisor for the 3+3 program, helped give her the knowledge and confidence to succeed. She also noted that support from the 3+3 program in preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) was vital to her success.

Outside of the 3+3 program, Resciniti added that the writing-intensive courses offered by the Department of History and the Department of Science, Technology, and Society helped her prepare for the rigorous academic workload she will face in graduate school. Forming mentorship bonds with faculty members, including Lecturer James Rankine and Associate Professor Kaitlin Stack Whitney, also helped her on her journey to law school.