This time last year, and were looking forward to their final semester of high school. This year, the two freshman McConnell Scholars are spending their Christmas break prepping for the American Moot Court Association鈥檚 national tournament in Gulfport, Florida, following a stellar performance at a regional undergraduate competition earlier this month.
Forty teams competed in the Dec. 2-3 regional event held at Saginaw Valley State University, with the top eight advancing to the national finals slated for Jan. 6-7 at Stetson University. Team Kolyaskina/Noble were one of four teams sent by the McConnell Center to participate in the event, which showcases oral arguments before an appellate court of law.
鈥淚 have always had an interest in the law but did not have room for legal studies in my class schedule,鈥 said Kolyaskina, who intends to double major in finance and economics and minor in Spanish, political science and international business. 鈥淚 have learned so much from this experience and especially appreciate the advice from the upperclassmen on the team. If they weren鈥檛 pushing me from Day 1, I would not have been able to make the competitive team.”
Moot Court competitions are known for their intensity, which makes the two freshmen鈥檚 placement in the finals even more impressive, according to UofL law school alumnus and team coach .
鈥淯ofL students are probably the only ones in the entire national competition who do not prepare for this as part of a class,鈥 Salyer said. 鈥淲e probably put in 80 hours of practice this fall, including weekends and late evening practices 鈥 and that鈥檚 in addition to their other responsibilities as students and McConnell Scholars.鈥
The regional tournament also saw two UofL students place in the top 15 in the oral arguments category, with Robert Gassman placing 9th and Alicia Humphrey finishing 11th out of 76 competitors. The center鈥檚 moot court program was also earlier this year.
