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Name: Callie Woolfolk
Degree: Master of Legal Studies, Human Rights Concentration
Hometown: El Paso, TX
Undergrad: University of Missouri, class of 2023; Interdisciplinary Studies, Communications Focus
Why did you choose Arizona Law for your MLS degree?
I used to live in Tucson, from about 2008 to 2013, and I have always hoped that I could visit again someday, because I loved living there so much – I was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. I love the Tucson community, and I know that the U of A has deep ties with it. Luckily, I got to come back and visit for a couple of days, for graduation. Arizona Law had exactly what I was looking for, not to mention programs that were structured so perfectly and conveniently for working parents and distance students, like me. If you’re a person that believes in fate or “kismet,” if you will, it just seemed right.
What advice would you give to incoming MLS students?
Study hard, take plenty of notes, but don’t take yourself too seriously. If you live outside of Tucson and are a distance student like me, learn to step away from the computer, from time to time. Meet your deadlines as you should, and always do your best, but don’t forget to stick your head up, every now and then.
What are your plans after graduation?
This is my second go at making a career for myself, the first being nearly two decades as an intelligence analyst with the United States Air Force. Since 2018 however, I’ve been a stay at-home parent, focusing on raising my kids and making sure they’re doing well in school. It may be cliché to say this, but I still want to help people and do something more with my life. This is so different from anything that I did in the military, but I think that the skills I have because of that prior career will help me. I want to work again and do something important.
How do you hope to make a difference in the legal field or in society through your career?
This one’s hard, mainly because of the subject matter that I focus on, and here’s why… When one of your kids comes to you crying, and after many attempts to drag out the reason why, you finally learn that it’s because she’s scared one of her friends is going to be deported, it makes you angry… and determined. It makes you angry that someone – anyone – would make your child cry, and angry that any kids are afraid in this way, but it also makes you determined to find a way so that your kid doesn’t go through this ever again, so that no kids go through this ever again. That’s the kind of difference that I want to make, in any way that I can.
This Q&A has been edited for length. For the full article, see here.
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