Reese Kewin, a divorced mother of six, is studying law at WMU-Cooley Law School and working for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Photo courtesy of WMU-Cooley Law School
By Terry Carella
WMU-Cooley
Reese Kewin is not your average law student. In fact, there’s nothing average about her. At 46, and starting law school, Reese knew that a “huge life change was ahead,” not only for her, but for her six children.
“People often ask me, ‘Why law school? Why now?’ I take a deep breath and say, Well, it’s something, quite honestly, I have thought about for a long time, for decades it seems.”
A self proclaimed Michigander, and having gone to high school and college in Michigan, Reese knew all about Cooley. She always kept it in the back of her mind whenever she thought about going to law school. Of course, as often happens, life got in the way, and law school was pushed aside. She got married, moved away, had children, got divorced then suddenly, many years later, found herself back in Lansing working only blocks away from Cooley. Law school was literally staring her in the face.
“One day I got up and I thought, you know what? Stop just thinking about it!”
So, that day, Reese boldly walked into WMU-Cooley’s Lansing campus and asked the Admission Office for a tour.
“All of my questions were answered,” Reese stated in relief. “I just knew, as I walked the halls, that this was the place I needed to be. And as I left Cooley, after touring the whole campus and the library, walking the few blocks back to work, I started to cry. It sounds kind of silly, but after all these years of wanting to do this, I knew that this was where I belonged. That was it, I took the LSAT a few months later.”
The Weekend Program was exactly what she needed to make this dream of law school possible. Reese started her law school journey working full-time while taking two classes, plus Intro to Law. Then, just as she was getting used to being a student again, life handed her another curve ball.
“I had just finished my first term, and as it happens in Telecomm, my industry of choice for 22 years, layoffs occurred,” declared Reese. “I again found myself taking a deep breath, and I thought, even with just a term of law school under my belt, I am going to try to dip my toe into the legal field to see what I can do. I approached the career development folks here at Cooley, and they sat down with me and revamped my entire 22-year Telecomm career into a legal resume for me. I then went to some job fairs and found that the legal field was very welcoming and open. I even found a job as a student assistant working for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Once again, my choice to go to law school, even as an older student, was just reaffirmed for me.”
As any parent knows, this law school journey was not going to be alone. She needed her children to be on board and to support her decision. So she kept reinforcing it with them.
“When you guys start back to school, mommy is starting back to school,” Reese remembers saying to her children. She made it clear that she was going to need time to study, and that there would be times when they would want to do things, but they would not be able to do them. She let them know that they all needed to be flexible and would need to come up with some alternatives.
But she really never needed to worry. Her children have supported her wholeheartedly.
“I think, at least I hope, that in some small way they see that, wow, if mom can go and do this, then we can do anything too.”
As the first term ended for Reese, and her grades rolled in, the tears flowed again after seeing how she did.
“The kids were like, ‘oh mom, did you not do well?’ and I said, ‘No! I got a four point.”
Her son understood why she was crying and why she was going to law school. “Mom, I know why you’re doing this. Because you want to help people,” he said.
Reese wiped the tears and said, “That’s exactly why I am doing this.”
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