I was one of the founding members of Cornell College’s Mock Trial team, and I directly credit my Mock Trial experience with my professional success.

I’ve spent the last seven years serving as the voice of a startup financial planning company called XY Planning Network. Part of my role is to host a podcast, speak in front of large virtual and in-person audiences, and confidently convey strategy to my teams. Mock Trial taught me how to clearly communicate, to read people, and to speak with confidence. These qualities make a person a dynamite hire anywhere, but especially in the startup world.

But perhaps even more importantly, participating in Mock Trial and subsequently coaching it, gave me my first taste of Flow. Flow is this sense of doing what fits you as a person. When you are in your flow, you are your most elevated, natural self. Coming out of college already aware of my flow state helped me know that there was something else out there when I spent the first few years after graduation working in jobs that didn’t quite fit me. It meant that I knew to keep searching and eventually found my flow again in my current work with XYPN. Now, I’m at a point in my career where I’m writing job descriptions to match these strengths, and hire folks who exhibit them. I’m not sure I would have been able to do that without Mock Trial.

I found mock trial at Cornell to be a holistic and transformational experience. For me, mock trial provided a way to explore my interests, the confidence to go after what I wanted, and the substantive legal knowledge that I needed to succeed in law school.

I transferred to Cornell at the start of my junior year knowing that I loved to write and to speak in front of people but unsure whether I wanted to be a professor or a lawyer. In mock trial, I was able to explore what it meant to play different roles. Sometimes I acted as an attorney. Other times, I had to take on the persona of a witness. This opportunity to try on different hats confirmed for me that I loved working with the law and wanted to be a lawyer.

I also graduated from Cornell's mock trial program with the confidence to go after the opportunities I wanted. I had grown up thinking about elite law schools as something intimidating. However, I spent two years traveling to and winning against some of the most prestigious schools in the country. As a result, when I started applying to law schools, I felt comfortable submitting applications to institutions that I might not have considered before Cornell's mock trial team.

Finally, my mock trial experience also provided me with a substantive knowledge of the law that helped me succeed at the University of Chicago Law School. Whereas most of my law school classmates were learning the rules of evidence for the first time, I had spent two years applying them in Cornell's mock trial program. I still remember during my third year of law school finding out that I'd received the top grade in my Advanced Trial Practice course, beating out two students who would later go on to clerk at the United States Supreme Court. After I got the news about my grade, I immediately emailed Coach Abbe to let her know how much her team had impacted my life."

Cornell Mock Trial taught me the joy of working with a team to overcome steep competition. The skills I learned there I continue to use every day as a practicing lawyer: taking in the facts, knowing my audience, and putting together the most persuasive arguments. And those are critical skills in almost any job, whether or not you decide to go to law school.

It was also an opportunity to work with incredible, motivated people and go farther in that competition than we ever thought possible. Learning there was no ceiling on what we could do was a lesson that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Mock trial at Cornell College instilled a sense of confidence that has helped me throughout my career. In mock trial, you are essentially putting yourself out there again and again, asking professionals like judges and lawyers to evaluate you on your presentation. In some ways, it is a vulnerable experience, but it is also invaluable. After graduating from Cornell, I worked on healthcare policy in Washington, DC. In this work, I often found myself presenting in front of senior vice presidents of client corporations and other influential individuals. Even as someone in my early twenties, I felt comfortable stepping up and making my voice heard because I had done this so many times with mock trial.

Through Mock Trial at Cornell College, I developed a set of skills that has been invaluable in my career. Learning how to raise objections during a trial taught me how to take initiative. Presenting in front of people multiple times a week for four years made me comfortable standing up and being heard. Serving as a squad captain showed me how to inspire people in tough situations and how to navigate interpersonal conflict while remaining part of a team.

Six years later, I see myself draw on these skills every day. I am never afraid to be the first person who takes responsibility for trying something new at my firm. I have been offered every job I have interviewed for since graduating from Cornell. And now as I step into my first management position, I am grateful for all of the time I spent learning how to develop team cohesion.

As a public defender, I frequently find myself in court representing clients in trials and other hearings. One thing that is very similar is that both real trials and mock trials come with surprises no matter how prepared you try to be. Witnesses often testify differently than you expect and it is important to be able to adapt your case no matter what happens. It is also important to be able to quickly object to stop inappropriate witness testimony before a jury hears it.  I am able to respond quickly when I am in a courtroom because of my mock trial training, which makes me confident that whatever I encounter, I already have the skills I need to respond.

My first year at Cornell, I was named co-captain of a squad that contained mostly other first-year students. This role pushed me in a way I hadn’t been pushed before. Instead of focusing solely on my own performance, I suddenly had to lead a group of teammates in court. It was the first time I’d really been in that type of position, and I found that the confidence that our coach showed in me was the boost I needed to take on other leadership roles. I became a peer assistant. I served on Greek Life boards. And now as an attorney, I feel confident standing up in court and representing my firm.