Poly Sci./English grad off to law school

By Laura Polzin
Design Editor

In the fall of 2012, senior Trisha Stachowski will be attending William Mitchell College of Law after graduating from Saint Mary’s University with a degree in political science and English literature.

Stachowski’s inspiration to attend law school occurred on a fifth grade trip to a courtroom, she said. “We had a mock trial with Goldie Locks and the Three Bears,” she said. “We also got to see her judge chambers.” From that experience alone she knew she wanted to go to law school and become a lawyer and possibly a judge one day, she said.

“I was influenced by my parents in the sense that they always told me to try my best and to try and accomplish as much as I can,” said Stachowski. “My grandparents also influenced me by telling me to step out and reach for the stars.” Another influence on Stachowski’s life was her brother. Their healthy competition pushed her to her fullest potential, she said.

“The application process [to law school] itself was not that hard; all of the schools in the metro area used the same method,” said Stachowski. “The difficult part was the LSAT because I did not know what was going to be on it. It was the type of test that
helped predict how someone would do in law school rather than what someone actually knew,” she said.

Stachowski said she decided on William Mitchell after she had the opportunity to visit the school and other schools as well. She knew it was the right school for her when she stepped foot on the campus, she said, because it was the same feeling she had when she visited Saint Mary’s, a decision she is still happy with. She anticipates being equally happy with her decision to attend William Mitchell.

Stachowski said she hopes her English major will give her a strong foundation for law school in terms of research papers and academic writing in general. Additionally, it has prepared her for the amount of reading she will be doing in law school, said Stachowski.

Her political science major has given her a good idea of how the government works and how the legal system works, said Stachowski. She said it has also given her a global perspective of the world.

Stachowski said her goal is to practice corporate law or some type of mediation or litigation, but she is open to the idea of that changing and pursuing other opportunities.