Catching up with Christina Essopos
Christina Essopos was an upbeat and cheerful presence around Huntington High School during her years there. Friends knew she was loyal to a fault, teachers appreciated her intellect and the extensive preparation she engaged in for classes and coaches and teammates never doubted that her competitive spirit ran deep.
Ms. Essopos is halfway through a three-year course of study at Brooklyn Law School. “Last summer I interned at the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney's office in their major narcotics investigations bureau and loved it,” she said. “Right now, I am working at the New York City Law Department in special federal litigation. I have my own case load there and even got to take my own depositions and appear in front of a judge in federal court! In the spring I am looking forward to competing for our school's moot court team in Widener Law School's corporate law competition.”
After graduating from Huntington on June 27, 2003, Ms. Essopos headed to George Washington University in Washington D.C., compiling an impressive academic record. She held down a double major in political science and international affairs and minored in history, graduating magna cum laude in May 2007.
“I decided to go to school in D.C. to pursue my interest in politics, which was cultivated at Huntington High,” Ms. Essopos said during a recent interview. She credits two people in particular for helping cultivate that interest, including former social studies teacher and current department director Joseph Leavy and also a former JV tennis coach, remembering conversations she had with him during bus rides to away tennis meets.
Those bus conversations led to an internship during high school with then-Assemblyman and now Senator John J. Flanagan and she is grateful to her former coach. “So, while I probably never got a chance to thank him before, he really had an impact on me back then, and I don't think I would have necessarily pursued politics the way I did without his influence.”
Mr. Leavy also proved to be “a memorable teacher in that he consistently challenged me academically,” Ms. Essopos said. “Working with him in preparation for the History Day competition and having him support student political opinions by facilitating constructive debate, as I understand he still does, were things that also helped me, and I am sure other students, realize their passion.”
Christina Jean Essopos was a member of Huntington High School’s National Honor Society and Foreign Language Honor Society and was corresponding secretary of the Class of 2003. She won the James Loebell Memorial Scholarship and the Political Action Committee Award. At the 142nd commencement exercises, she introduced Superintendent John J. Finello to the crowd of more than 2,000 that gathered on a warm Friday evening at Blue Devil Field.
At GWU, Ms. Essopos embraced the college experience. “I quickly got involved politically on campus and in my second year I interned at the National Republican Congressional Committee in the finance department, where I was given the chance to work extensively on not only congressional campaigns but also Bush-Cheney '04,” she said about that year’s GOP presidential ticket.
2004 turned out to be a special year for the Huntington alum. “I was lucky enough not only to be able to attend the election night party, and the inauguration itself, but I also got to go to the inaugural ball,” she said about the events surrounding the successful re-election of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
“After my experience at the NRCC, I decided to see what an actual congressional office was like, and interned for Congressman Rick Renzi from Arizona for a semester,” Ms. Essopos said. “I enjoyed the atmosphere of working on the Hill with so many people that were just as passionate about politics as I was. When I came back for my junior year, I decided to see what lobbying was like, and got a job as a research associate at Williams Mullen, a lobbying firm that had a lot of international clients.”
She also worked with her friends part-time throughout college at the Kennedy Center as a butler. “That was a particularly great experience,” she recalled. “I remember the first person I ever got to serve was Condoleeza Rice!”
As a GWU senior she returned to Capitol Hill after landing a position in the political department at the Republican National Committee. “It was an amazing experience and while the election didn't pan out well for the RNC, I learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t and was happy to have had the chance to work with and meet so many interesting people.”
With 18 months of law school remaining before she graduates Ms. Essopos is thinking about the future. “While I still enjoy politics and hope to go back to it one day, whether that means campaigning for someone else or running for office one day myself, I am excited to start practicing law,” she said. “I am not sure right now what field I will end up in. I enjoy criminal law and also real estate and corporate law, so far.”
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