1. As a health care advocate, she has skin in the game.
“I worked at the Center for Patient Partnerships this past summer and continued into the fall. My supervisor there is a melanoma survivor, and Kyle, one of my first clients, also has advanced stage melanoma. It’s because of Kyle that I scheduled a dermatology appointment on a whim and learned I had in situ melanoma, which means the cancer cells were confined to the top layer of my skin. If it hadn’t been for him, I may not have caught and treated my melanoma in time.

“Having to navigate the system for myself — making phone calls, scheduling appointments, figuring out which doctors to see, and what insurance will cover — all helped me build empathy for Kyle and my other clients. As a lawyer, I never want to lose sight of that.”

2. She’s a team player.
“The CPP is interdisciplinary, so students handle a variety of situations. If our clients’ needs are outside of our scope, we refer them to an expert. So if a client has an issue related to workers' comp, sometimes a medical student will come to a law student for advice on the statute. Other times, we lawyers might be unsure of the medical terminology, and we’ll ask the med students. We’re all working together to support clients in really serious situations while helping them navigate the complex health care system.”

3. She takes a whole student approach to law school.
"Sometimes in law school, you have to take a step back and make sure that you’re healthy yourself, so that you can best serve your clients. I played softball and basketball in college, but my whole first semester of law school, I barely exercised at all. Now I exercise and try to keep physically active. And I’m lucky to have the support of my family. Prayer and reflection have been important to me, too.”

4. She’s a learner for life.
“One of the most important lessons of law school is that good lawyers never stop learning. We are constantly researching and figuring out the best ways to support our clients. I’ve also learned a lot about myself. For example, law school has confirmed my desire to serve others. I came here wanting to help people, and I’m approaching my education with the goal of becoming the best lawyer and the best person I can be.”

5. Cookies and kindness matter.
“Professor Klingele, my criminal law professor when I first started here, was very inspiring to me. She’s a great teacher, is extremely intelligent and cares a lot about her students. And even though she’s so busy, she always finds time to serve others. At the end of the semester, she baked our whole class cookies with our names on them.”

Submitted by Law School News on March 1, 2016

This article appears in the categories: UW Women in Law - Featured Profile, We Heart Our Students