Detroit Mercy Law 1L student Toni Loptien previously was an art teacher in public schools, teaching elementary and high school students. After a 12-year hiatus when she home-schooled her children, she and her husband fostered—then adopted—a special needs child. The experience left Loptien wanting to move into the field of child advocacy and earn a law degree.
Photo courtesy of Toni Loptien
Photo courtesy of Toni Loptien
By Sheila Pursglove
Legal News
Former art teacher Toni Loptien loved working with children—and has now turned her sights to a career in law and in advocating for youngsters and their families.
“My passion has always been to be a role model and positively influence children, so education was a no-brainer,” says Loptien, a 1L student at Detroit Mercy Law School.
“I’ve also been involved with art programs and developing my own art-skills what seems like my whole life. Art education seemed like an obvious choice to both do something I personally loved and be on the ground-floor of developing relationships with children.”
During her time as a public school teacher, including as a student teacher, Loptien taught elementary and high school students—age groups she says have many fun and unique qualities. “At the elementary level, you get kids who come in and are genuinely excited to learn about and do art. They get excited and wave to you in the hall. Their questions and efforts are sweet, even the little ones who do not take to art naturally. The young ages are silly and creative,” she says.
“On the other hand, teaching at the high school level can be challenging and beyond rewarding. You get students who come in needing your class, needing to escape from the pressures the other academic classes can put on them. Not saying my classes were a breeze, I held those students to a high standard, but I let them express themselves. I had students with behavior problems or learning struggles and I aimed to be a part of their IEP or intervention meetings to advocate for them as people, not just as students.
“I still keep in touch with many of my former high school students—adults now—and it’s such a joy to see them thriving in their own lives.”
After a 12-year break to homeschool her children, Loptien is now on a path that started almost a decade ago, when she and her husband began research on getting licensed to foster parent.
“Children in the system were a passion and burden on our hearts. In 2018, we welcomed a child with severe special needs into our home and less than a year later, we adopted her,” she says. “Just like so many who enter the foster care system, our adoptive daughter’s past is dark and sad. That darkness and sadness never left my heart and my need to do something more.”
Determining that adopting more children wouldn’t be logical, Loptien expressed to her husband she felt the need to do more in the area of child advocacy.
“I took a while to think about the idea of law school because I knew it would be a big investment and ultimately, take me out of the home more often than my family had ever been used to,” she says. “Once I saw the complete support by my family, not just my husband and children, but my parents and siblings—I couldn’t be going to school without their help— I set my mind to it.”
As an educator, Loptien was keenly aware smaller class sizes and more personalized learning promote success for students.
“That’s what UDM Law provides,” she says. “My largest class this semester is a little over 80 students, which sounds large, but the professor has made it clear how accessible she is and encourages us to take advantage of her office hours even if just to say hello. My other classes this semester are much smaller and the availability and support of the professors is no different. Detroit Mercy Law is focused on community and promoting success.”
Loptien wants to advocate for children or families who have been victims of a violent crime, abuse, or neglect.
“I’m not yet sure if that will take me down the path of criminal law or family law,” she says. “I think working in the Prosecutor’s Office downtown would match this. I could also see myself becoming a judge and continuing to advocate locally in Detroit.”
Being a mature, non-traditional student has its advantages, she notes.
“I can draw from life experience when I’m in a professional setting and in some situations, I may be able to relate a little more than the average-age student. I can certainly manage my time already and I value my education probably more now than I did as an undergrad student in my 20s,” she says. “But that’s not to say all average-age law students aren’t taking full advantage of their studies. I definitely don’t think it gives me advantage as a student however, as I’m learning all of this new material just like everyone else.”
A native of the Wayne County city of Taylor, she and Cruiz, her husband of 14 years, continue to make their home there with their four children—and where her favorite leisure time activity is spending time with her family.
“My husband and I enjoy trying new restaurants and going downtown together,” she says.
“We also love watching our kids try new things and excel at the things they like to do.”
Legal News
Former art teacher Toni Loptien loved working with children—and has now turned her sights to a career in law and in advocating for youngsters and their families.
“My passion has always been to be a role model and positively influence children, so education was a no-brainer,” says Loptien, a 1L student at Detroit Mercy Law School.
“I’ve also been involved with art programs and developing my own art-skills what seems like my whole life. Art education seemed like an obvious choice to both do something I personally loved and be on the ground-floor of developing relationships with children.”
During her time as a public school teacher, including as a student teacher, Loptien taught elementary and high school students—age groups she says have many fun and unique qualities. “At the elementary level, you get kids who come in and are genuinely excited to learn about and do art. They get excited and wave to you in the hall. Their questions and efforts are sweet, even the little ones who do not take to art naturally. The young ages are silly and creative,” she says.
“On the other hand, teaching at the high school level can be challenging and beyond rewarding. You get students who come in needing your class, needing to escape from the pressures the other academic classes can put on them. Not saying my classes were a breeze, I held those students to a high standard, but I let them express themselves. I had students with behavior problems or learning struggles and I aimed to be a part of their IEP or intervention meetings to advocate for them as people, not just as students.
“I still keep in touch with many of my former high school students—adults now—and it’s such a joy to see them thriving in their own lives.”
After a 12-year break to homeschool her children, Loptien is now on a path that started almost a decade ago, when she and her husband began research on getting licensed to foster parent.
“Children in the system were a passion and burden on our hearts. In 2018, we welcomed a child with severe special needs into our home and less than a year later, we adopted her,” she says. “Just like so many who enter the foster care system, our adoptive daughter’s past is dark and sad. That darkness and sadness never left my heart and my need to do something more.”
Determining that adopting more children wouldn’t be logical, Loptien expressed to her husband she felt the need to do more in the area of child advocacy.
“I took a while to think about the idea of law school because I knew it would be a big investment and ultimately, take me out of the home more often than my family had ever been used to,” she says. “Once I saw the complete support by my family, not just my husband and children, but my parents and siblings—I couldn’t be going to school without their help— I set my mind to it.”
As an educator, Loptien was keenly aware smaller class sizes and more personalized learning promote success for students.
“That’s what UDM Law provides,” she says. “My largest class this semester is a little over 80 students, which sounds large, but the professor has made it clear how accessible she is and encourages us to take advantage of her office hours even if just to say hello. My other classes this semester are much smaller and the availability and support of the professors is no different. Detroit Mercy Law is focused on community and promoting success.”
Loptien wants to advocate for children or families who have been victims of a violent crime, abuse, or neglect.
“I’m not yet sure if that will take me down the path of criminal law or family law,” she says. “I think working in the Prosecutor’s Office downtown would match this. I could also see myself becoming a judge and continuing to advocate locally in Detroit.”
Being a mature, non-traditional student has its advantages, she notes.
“I can draw from life experience when I’m in a professional setting and in some situations, I may be able to relate a little more than the average-age student. I can certainly manage my time already and I value my education probably more now than I did as an undergrad student in my 20s,” she says. “But that’s not to say all average-age law students aren’t taking full advantage of their studies. I definitely don’t think it gives me advantage as a student however, as I’m learning all of this new material just like everyone else.”
A native of the Wayne County city of Taylor, she and Cruiz, her husband of 14 years, continue to make their home there with their four children—and where her favorite leisure time activity is spending time with her family.
“My husband and I enjoy trying new restaurants and going downtown together,” she says.
“We also love watching our kids try new things and excel at the things they like to do.”
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