2008 Woodie Awards
Pre-law will integrate faith, justice
De Andra Kenoly, Staff WriterThe Pre-Law Faith and Justice Program, designed and led by professor of political science Julia Stronks, will begin this spring to help students who are interested in going to law school.
The program will focus on the profession from the Christian point of view, Stronks said.
"One thing we want to know is whether Christian attorneys feel it is possible to be Christian and a lawyer," Stronks said. "Where are the tensions? Do they feel there is a conflict between the two?"
The program will be an opportunity for students to ask questions about the profession in regards to faith, Stronks said.
Stronks said she asked these sorts of questions and struggled to find the answers once she became a lawyer.
"[I] didn't have anyone to help me figure them out," Stronks said. "Students of faith will not get those questions answered in law school, so we want to help raise them and answer them now in this stage."
Freshman Michelle Creek, who is planning to join the program, said it is good that students will have the opportunity to examine the profession in regards to faith.
"I know that whenever I inform somebody that I would like to be an attorney, it is so stereotypical to receive responses like 'the profession you're going into is so shady' and 'there's so much corruption,'" Creek said.
"I'm really intrigued to find the faith aspects in the job," Creek added. "I want to find that I can incorporate my faith and not feel like I'm losing who I am or that I'm succumbing to that stereotype of the profession."
The pre-law program will be open to all students no matter what their major, since any student with a four-year degree can go on to law school, Stronks said.
"A law degree is a very practical degree to have," Stronks said. "It gives you lots of skills and there are maybe lots of people who might have not been thinking about it who could really use it, so I would like to find those students."
Currently, there is pre-law advising, but no formal program, Stronks said.
Stronks said the program will be more of a formal preparation for people going to law school.
"[The program] makes it something that is clearly defined," Stronks said. "This is a way to make sure that we're giving access and help to everyone who might be interested in it."
The pre-law program is one of the improvements the political science department is taking on to help students think about possibilities after graduation, assistant professor of political science Patrick Van Inwegen said.
"The rationale for focusing on law schools now is that we have a number of students, both majors and non-political science majors, who could really benefit from this more organized and structured approach," Van Inwegen said.
The program will develop over the course of several years in hopes that it will become a two-semester program, but as of right now there are no concrete details, Stronks said.
"[The program's development] will depend on student interest and demand," Stronks said.
In the future, Stronks hopes the program will provide more internship and mentoring opportunities.
Some students, such as freshman Tyler Whitney, have been talking with Stronks about preparing for law school and are looking forward to what the program has to offer.
"It is exciting to hear that there will be a more formalized pre-law program that will help to better prepare students for law school," Whitney said.
Whitney said it will be a good opportunity to meet other students who are interested in law school.
"The more people you know the better," Whitney said. "Connections are key when you are looking into any professional occupation. There are a lot of bright people here and a lot of things I can learn from them. I'm excited to hear about their experiences."
Creek said it will benefit students interested in law to be able to get to know others who are going in the same profession.
"I know in political science classes not everybody's moving to the same goal of law school because political science is applicable in a lot of different areas," Creek said. "I'm hoping to have just a common place where we can all be moving towards the same things."
Contact De Andra Kenoly at de.andra.kenoly@whitworthian.com.
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