Ava Haberer grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, but she spent many of her summers running around Iowa City and the University of Iowa campus while visiting family.

When it came time to think about where she wanted to go to college, she sent in only one application: to Iowa.

“It just always felt like it was somewhere I knew I would love all the people around me and where I would have a good time,” Haberer says.

Haberer says she always knew she wanted to go to law school.

“If you Google, ‘What’s the best major for law school?’, they don’t really give you a good answer,” Haberer says. “You can major in anything that you want. My parents always made me sit down and watch shows like 20/20 and Dateline, so I began to think about criminology.”

After graduating in December 2024 with a BA in criminology, law, and justice, Haberer plans to apply to law schools. Her major has influenced the type of law she plans to practice.

“I’ve become really interested in criminal defense through being a criminology major,” Haberer says. “I’ve learned a lot in my classes about the criminal justice system, and I think there’s a real need for more criminal defense attorneys.”

What are your some of your earliest memories on campus?

Coming here and not knowing a single person really made me go out and be more social than I probably would have if I went to a school back in Arizona. So, I made sure to go to all the On Iowa! events. I ended up meeting some of my best friends at Kickoff at Kinnick on the first Friday of the year.

What’s been your favorite memory during your time on campus?

I think just living in the Burge Residence Hall. Me and my roommates always say that we would spend our last dollar to go back and live in the dorms because it was an environment that we don’t think we’ll ever live in again. Just having all your friends that close to you and being able to leave your door open and have people come in whenever was something that we really enjoyed. We had a lot of fun.

What has surprised you most about your time at Iowa?

The admissions catalogs show everyone sitting outside on the Pentacrest, and I was really surprised when I saw that students actually did that. They actually spend time outside whenever it’s nice out. I think a lot of my friends who go to other schools don’t have the same experience.

My favorite place to hang out is behind the Iowa Memorial Union. There’s a bunch of benches back there, and it’s nice to just sit there and look at the river.

What’s one of the most valuable things you’ve learned at Iowa?

Always say yes to new things. Especially that first year, I said yes to a lot more things than I normally would have. I think one thing that has become valuable to me is going for opportunities if they’re presented to me and saying yes to everything that I can.

What do you think you’ve gotten from your experience at Iowa that you wouldn’t have at another school?

I was really involved in high school with student government and sports and things like that. So, extracurricular activities were something I was really looking for. And that’s one thing that really stood out about Iowa, just how many opportunities there were and how many students were involved, and not just in one thing but more than one thing. Whenever I talk to my friends back home, I don’t think they’re involved in as many things as they could be. And that might be because their school might not offer it. I like that Iowa has those opportunities for us.

How would you describe what it’s like to be a part of the Hawkeye community?

An amazing sense of community is the best way that I can put it. Even if we’re not doing that well in a sports season, people are still going to show up to the games. I’ve never been to a game where the student section just isn’t completely full. That environment of going to sporting events or even just to class and seeing people representing the university through the clothes that they’re wearing is something that I think is really unique to the university.

Who has been the most important mentor you have found here?

Kaitlin Franzen-Shehu, who’s an admissions counselor and leader for the CLAS Student Ambassadors program, has given me a lot of opportunities that I might not have gotten elsewhere. I also have gotten to know her and talk to her outside of school-related things, and that’s been really helpful to have someone who is not only a mentor, but also, I think, a good friend.