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March 15, 2010
"Childhood obesity in the U.S. has become an epidemic. For the first time in history, experts are predicting that children today will have a lower life expectancy than their parents." - Raymond Lindholm, law student
Whether showering the audience with the inspiring melodies of his violin or winning the jury's vote with his powerful closing statements, it is evident that law student Raymond Lindholm was born to perform.
After receiving his Bachelor of Music in violin performance from GSU, he combined his passion for music and his entrepreneurial skills and launched the Lindholm School of Music. The Lindholm School provided consulting services, instrumental programs, and private lessons to private schools in the Atlanta area. As the school of music expanded, Lindholm reached a professional crossroads, wondering whether to broaden his passion for the stage or take on something new.
To help him with this decision, Lindholm accepted a position with Alston & Bird, the second largest law firm in Atlanta. While there he realized pursuing a law degree was the right choice.
"I'm the type of individual that is interested in everything, and I felt that a law degree is relevant to a wide range of subjects," said Lindholm. "At GSU I was repeatedly impressed with my professors, but it was in one of my first law classes with Professor Charity Scott that I realized I wanted to pursue health law."
Scott encouraged Lindholm to apply to present a paper at a conference on the cycle of childhood poverty. Developed by the Institute for the Study of Disadvantage and Disability, the conference invited graduate students - Lindholm among them - from eight southeastern institutions to present their research last May at Emory University.
Lindholm's resulting paper "Legal Analysis of Childhood Obesity and the Built Environment in Minority and Low-Income Populations" will be published in the journal Environmental Health Reviews. "Childhood obesity in the U.S. has become an epidemic," Lindholm said. "For the first time in history, experts are predicting that children today will have a lower life expectancy than their parents."
During this past summer, he spent 10 weeks interning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzing public health law issues, including the abusive use of prescription drugs and opioids. With one year left of law school, Lindholm has his sights set on practicing health law.