Student Spotlight: Kirstin Rosa '25
“Growth. Success. Community.”
These are the three words 3L Kirstin Rosa says define her experience at California Western School of Law.
Growth
Originally from Santa Maria, California, Kirstin says she grew up knowing that somehow she’d end up in criminal law. She remembers watching Law and Order with her aunt and imagined growing up to be a homicide detective: “I would always annoy my aunt, because I could always figure out who did it before she did.” Starting in high school, Kirstin set her sights on law school, something no one in her family had done before. However, when Kirstin started sending in applications, her mom informed her that her father, who had passed away when Kirstin was eight years old, had actually wanted to go to law school but hadn’t gotten the chance. Kirstin says, “That was a full circle moment, knowing I was on the right path.” She also says, “I would not be where I am today without my mom and brother. They are truly my biggest support system.”
That she’s on the right path has become even clearer since coming to Cal Western two and a half years ago. Kirstin remembers Orientation Day and Noelle Dorman from the Career and Professional Development Office (CPDO) telling her and her fellow 1L’s, “we have all these tools for you; you just have to come use them.” So that’s what Kirstin done: she found and joined the Criminal Law Association (this year will be her second as President); she jumped into intraschool moot court competitions—winning two Distinguished Advocate Awards and joining the Trial Team of the Competitive Advocacy Program (CAP); she linked up with CPDO and got internships in the DA’s Gang Unit and at a personal injury firm, adding civil litigation skills to her resume. Kirstin’s also sought out mentors to help her grow and has found them in Emily Behzadi Cárdenas, her Property professor, and Professor Fink, who taught her Con Law and is now teaching her Remedies. “Professor Behzadi Cárdenas made me love a subject that I did not think I would be interested in. And, when I was a scared first-year, she made law school feel welcoming and helped me believe I could do it.” Kirstin says Professor Fink’s classes are very fun—and they challenge her to work harder than she has before to make sure she understands the material.
Success
Using CWSL as a springboard, Kirstin has already begun making waves in the legal community, in San Diego and beyond. This last summer, as part of her internship at the DA, she participated in their Closing Argument competition—and won it. “The competition is in a made-up universe, but I took it very seriously,” says Kirstin. “We were in a real courtroom with a real judge. I put in the effort as if it were a real case, because I wanted to experience that—what being a litigator is like.” She’s also played a key role on CAP’S Trial Team in the last two years. In her second-ever competition, which was hosted online, posing the added challenge of performing through a screen, Kirstin received a perfect score on her opening statement (what she thought was going to be her weakest point). Last year, with Kirstin a lead team member, California Western came in 3rd place in the Premier Trial Competition, going up against the likes of UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. All this competition success has confirmed for Kirstin where her skills and passion converge: “I want to be a trial attorney all the way. I love being in a courtroom arguing.”
Kirstin knows, as all good courtroom lawyers do, that success is not always defined by winning. Which is why, from Day 1, she has found ways to absorb more knowledge, develop new skills, and make important connections. “I came to Cal Western not knowing how law school worked, not knowing a single person in San Diego. But I put myself out there (with Cal Western’s help), and now I have a community and a huge amount of resources in the city.” Kirstin has also found success as a leader on campus: as a second-year member of the Criminal Law Association, she guided 1L’s through the law school learning curve, and as President of the CLA, she organizes panels that serve the needs of her constituents: many students interested in defense, some in prosecution— “and I’ll throw in a judge.” Kirstin tells her CLA associates at their first meeting: “I’m here to be your resource. Ask me, and I’ll get it for you.”
Entering her second year as a member of the Moot Court Honors Board (currently serving as Vice Chair), she has seen success in the networking events and competitions she and her team are able to organize. She loves connecting fellow members of the Competitive Advocacy Program with mentor attorneys, who serve as team coaches and as guest judges and juries. “It’s nice to see my fellow students in a competition that I helped arrange,” says Kirstin. “I see them getting judges’ feedback and know they’re learning how to become better litigants.” As the Moot Court Honors Board plans a networking event for later this year, Kirstin is looking forward to bringing in both criminal and civil attorneys, so all of her future colleagues are able to make the connections they’ll need once they’re out in the field.
Community
In the end, it comes down to community for Kirstin. It’s what she cherishes most from her time at CWSL so far—the bonds she’s formed with mentors and peers. She has fond memories of being in the hotel room with her trial team partner the night before a major competition, knowing that there was nothing more they could do to prepare—after months of practicing, they were either ready or not—”so we ordered a bunch of room service and watched Bachelor in Paradise.” Winning 3rd place, Kirstin went home with the trophy and a once-in-a-lifetime experience being with a friend in the trenches.
Kirstin has also felt the rewards of being part of a legal community that makes the San Diego feel small. California Western alumni in firms and courtrooms throughout the city give her a vision of where she can be and the alumni that return to campus coach her on how to make it a reality. Her CAP bootcamp coach also connected her Hepburn, Hernandez, and Young Trial Attorneys, where she interned last spring.
The community she’s formed gives Kirstin the chance to be a mentor herself. She loves to share the law school wisdom she’s gathered with 1 and 2L’s; she doesn’t want to see them burn out, in school or down the line. She’s quick to counsel: “Make time for yourself. Find your safe space. See a therapist. Work out. Watch mindless TV to get out of your head. Sometimes, that’s the best thing to do.” It's advice that Kirstin takes herself, because she knows the seriousness of the profession she’s chosen and its role in the community. “In the DA’s office, we represent society,” says Kirstin. “The goal of our office is to ethically prosecute, protect victims, and prevent future harm.” At California Western, there is no shortage of reminders that the American criminal justice system is far from perfect, and Kirstin is aware that there are some stigmas attached to wanting to be a prosecutor. Kirstin says, “Unfortunately, no system is perfect, which is why you need people on both sides to create change. I admire people in the Public Defender’s office. I know it’s my job to make sure the system isn’t broken. To make the conscious decision to be ethical in every case that I’m given.”
Kirstin is aware of how much power lies with the prosecution. Interning with the San Diego DA’s office for the third time this semester, she has learned many different dimensions of the criminal justice system, how each is designed to ensure the community is safe and all of the resources used to do so. “I love working there,” says Kirstin. “It’s not just litigation, either. It’s the ability to look at each case and say, What is best for society? Is prosecution what’s needed? Can we get a person to rehabilitation instead of prison? It's holding people accountable for their actions while making sure there isn’t over-prosecution or under-prosecution. It's amazing to be able to do all of that.” Kirstin is ready for the responsibility she’s reaching for—she’s been thinking about it since she was a young girl—to be in service to the community through the law: “As a prosecutor, my approach will be to be conscious in everything I do. I know I’m balancing justice against someone’s liberty. I know I am making an ethical decision when proceeding with a case. There is so much violence in the world, and we see victims of crime and want to make them whole.” With one more year at California Western, Kirstin is looking forward to the challenges ahead: “I want to be on the frontlines, making sure that nothing falls through the cracks.”