*Editor’s Note: The “Views from NAU” blog series highlights the thoughts of different people affiliated with NAU, including faculty members sharing opinions or research in their areas of expertise. The views expressed reflect the authors’ own personal perspectives.
By Mason Wulbrecht
Mason Wulbrecht is a senior majoring in political science with a minor in law and society and the president of NAU’s Mock Trial club.
If you had told me as a freshman that I would spend four years as a member and officer of Mock Trial at NAU, I probably would have said, “Huh?” followed by, “What’s mock trial?”
If you had told me after my first scrimmage that I would be the club president one day and go on to be a part of award-winning teams, I would have said you were crazy—if I could get the words out at all.
If you would have told me it would make me a better public speaker; teach me about trials, teamwork, leadership and friendship; make me more confident in my career choice; and be a big part of why I was chosen as a Gold Axe winner and PIA’s Outstanding Senior this year, I would not have believed it.
But it’s all true.
Mock Trial has single-handedly made me a polished public speaker. Through Mock Trial, I have gone from not being able to get a sentence out in front of 10 people to giving closing arguments to real lawyers and judges in a national tournament while competing against schools from throughout the country. As an attorney, I have learned how to stand up and argue for a cause, and I have learned how to tell a compelling story as a witness. While preparing for trial, I have gotten to work with an incredibly diverse group of people who are just as passionate about the law as I am. We have spent countless hours strategizing and working on developing cases and just as many hours getting to know each other as people.
I entered undergrad knowing I was interested in a career in law but not knowing what that looked like. By participating in mock trials, I have learned about how cases progress, what a trial looks like, what makes a compelling case and real legal ideas used by real lawyers. The rules of evidence that we use are almost exactly what real lawyers use in federal courtrooms. Through Mock Trial, I began to love trial advocacy and I have become a lot more confident that I want to go to law school after graduation.
Mock Trial has profoundly shaped my life at NAU and given me challenges and opportunities I could never have imagined. It has helped me forge relationships that are some of the most important in my life and that will continue long after I leave college. It’s all because of one professor’s comment, one blurb on True Blue Connects and the care and support the members and officers showed me at my first meeting. I hope everyone gets to have that kind of experience at NAU—and that Mock Trial is there for students like me for years to come.