by Elise Goitia '18

Law Professor Cindy Wilson '82 came to the Knox College campus to answer questions and offer advice to students interested in the law profession. While on campus, she met with students individually, talked with the Pre-Law Club, and answered student questions during a "Lunch with a Lawyer" event. 

Her visit was part of the Alumni in Residence series, which is hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations and the Bastian Family Career Center's Knox Networking Program (Knect). 

Wilson is a clinical professor of law and director of the center for externships at the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern's Pritzker School of Law. Her specialties include experiential learning, ethics, and public interest law. 

The lunch, she said, was an opportunity to inform students of what they might not know already about law school, in pursuit of helping future "great and forward-thinking lawyers."

"I'm always wanting to talk to students who are thinking about going to law school, and of course, Knox students are near and dear to my heart," said Wilson. "I think that they should be going with eyes wide open, that they should know what it's like and what lawyers do, in order to have that full knowledge to make an informed decision."

The students who attended the event asked Wilson questions about what she did before her current position, what students might do outside of classes to prepare for the future, and what the journey was like navigating law school and the opportunities that follow it.

"I was here to see if I could get some insight about law school," said Cortney Hill '17. "I wanted to pick her brain about what made her go to law school and see if it would be something that I'd like to do. You never know."

"The most important thing I took away from the lunch is realizing how malleable the law degree can be in different careers," he commented. "Cindy said that law school can be a tool to open many doors, and that's what I'm really interested in, just looking at what doors that can open, and if any of those doors are for me."

"I'm considering going to law school," said Alexis Bell '18, "but I don't feel like I necessarily have enough experience talking with people in the legal realm. I've been considering taking time off before attending, and she said that she'd actually encourage it, so it seems a little more appealing and normal."

Wilson enjoyed answering questions, and considered it a show of introspection from Knox students.

"With having a whole group of students who are focused on one profession, there are more people willing to engage on the issues that you care about, so the discussions are rich and deep and exciting," she said.