“Yossi is an exceptionally motivated student with a refined demeanor and friendly nature,” said Shoshana Grun, director of SLE. “His intuitive mind enabled him to hone his Talmudic study skills to maximize his educational potential. His acceptance to Harvard Law School is the culmination of his intellectual ability and determination.”

The process of applying to law school requires hard work and dedication. For Lieberman, it took even more.

Lieberman has attended SLE on a full-time basis since 2010 and also works full time for a health care marketing corporation. In order to fulfill his many responsibilities, Lieberman had to adhere to a strict schedule, rising before 6 A.M. every weekday morning to play with his two children—boys, ages two and six months—and driving to his office in the Bronx. After work he headed to Brooklyn for classes on school nights or home to help put his kids to bed and study for several hours. Most Saturday nights and Sundays were dedicated to preparing for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

“When I started school it was a difficult time because I was doing so many things and I had a newborn,” said Lieberman, 26, who graduated from the Mirrer Yeshiva Central Institute in Brooklyn in 2003. “But Shira, my very supportive wife (a 2010 Touro graduate), said to me, ‘When you’re at home you need to be fully at home, when you’re at work you need to be fully at work and when you’re at school you need to be fully at school.’ That helped my focus and I was able to give my all on everything I did.”

The hard work paid off. Lieberman is one of three Touro students—the others are from the Lander College for Women in Manhattan and the Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush—to be accepted to Harvard Law School this year. Two Lander College alumni are current students at Harvard Law.

It would have been “impossible” for Lieberman to have gotten into Harvard, he says, without the help of two Touro faculty members, Angelo Decandia, his instructor for economics and finance, and Thomas Rozinski, a professor of political science. Lieberman said that Prof. Decandia consistently encouraged him to accomplish his goals.

"He was always pushing me harder, not so much toward law school necessarily, but he showed me that there were no limits,” Lieberman said.

As Touro’s pre-law advisor, Prof. Rozinski helped Lieberman through the application process, always giving feedback and support. Prof. Rozinski said that in addition to his intelligence, Lieberman’s acceptance to Harvard Law was a direct result of his ability to focus on all his responsibilities.

“What impressed me about Yossi was his maturity. He was very good at balancing the priorities in his life,” said Rozinski. “He worked very hard on his application and demonstrated great perseverance in making it as good as possible.”