High Tech Middle Mesa Students Visit California Western School of Law
On Friday, March 1, a group of over 50 eighth grade students from High Tech Middle Mesa visited California Western School of Law (CWSL). The students are currently participating in a mock trial class at Middle Mesa and connected with CWSL in order to learn more about the law school experience and the many opportunities that a law degree provides for graduates.
The students were given a tour of campus and listened to a panel of current CWSL students who shared their experience of law school. CWSL students also took time to coach the HTM Mesa students on their mock trial arguments, as they prepare for their final competition in April.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is a senior United States district judge of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California, delivered a keynote address on the meaning of justice and how the U.S. court system is designed to achieve it. He also invited the group to consider participating in a pipeline program called Just The Beginning - Summer Legal Institute, which is available to high school students. Judge Curiel brought this program to San Diego, and CWSL’s own Jorge Garcia, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid, and Campus Diversity, was part of the steering committee that initiated the program.
CWSL President and Dean, Sean Scott, also spoke to the students, sharing her experience of being a lawyer, a professor, and an assistant dean, before assuming the role she is in now. She emphasized to students that litigation is only one possible route among many for those with a law degree and encouraged students to keep law school in mind as an avenue to a successful career. Dean Scott is committed to sustaining the vision of California Western as a school that provides the opportunity for its students to create social and economic mobility for themselves, their families, and their communities.
The HTM Mesa students will return to CWSL on March 20th to hold their final competition in our moot courtroom.