By Chris Patrick, staff writer
The transition from driving taxis to learning law is not an obvious one. But for Alfred Gabbin, it made complete sense.
Gabbin worked as a taxi driver for seven years, during and after undergrad. He says that this work experience is what ultimately steered him toward law school.
“Taxi driving is a form of customer service,” says Gabbin. “And people forget it, but law is too.”
Gabbin is currently a student in William & Mary Law School’s Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC). After going to Quinnipiac University School of Law for two years, Gabbin decided to return to Williamsburg—where he grew up—to finish law school. He’s attracted to environmental law because he wants to help develop solutions for problems related to coastal change in his long-time home.
“I’m a lifelong resident here,” says Gabbin. “I’ve seen the area grow, and I feel a sense of duty to be involved in how the area continues to grow.”
He’ll have a chance to do so as he finishes up his last semester and begins collaborating on VCPC’s southeast community project. The southeast community in Newport News is considered vulnerable to recurrent flooding and sea level rise because of its location and socioeconomic composition. For the project, Gabbin will evaluate the impact of sea level rise on the community, consider possible adaptations, and explore how community members are or can be involved in building resiliency.
Gabbin hopes that being native to and having worked in the area as a taxi driver will help him connect with the community: “Maybe I could connect city council members with community members in a way that other people haven’t.”
He also hopes that he’ll be able to apply the skills he gained as a taxi driver.
“You don’t have any control over who you pick up, so you talk to all sections of society,” says Gabbin. “It taught me to relate to almost anyone, and to learn from them.”
Gabbin received his bachelor’s degree in history from State University of New York Empire State College in 2010.
After Gabbin graduates from law school, he’s interested in getting involved in local government. He also wants also to continue working on the Southeast community project as a volunteer: “For me, it’s bigger than just being here in this class.”
An extension partner of Virginia Sea Grant, VCPC at William & Mary Law School provides policy and legal analysis to its partners on coastal resource and community issues in its mission to educate and train the future lawyers and leaders of tomorrow.
