Katie Fleschner McMullen

• Law Student, Michigan State University College of Law, Graduating May 2014
• Michigan State Law Review Assistant Senior Notes Editor; http://www.msulawreview.org/
• Published Works: Worlds Collide When 3D Printers Reach the Public: Modeling a Digital Gun Control Law After the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
• Teacher's Assistant for Research, Writing, and Advocacy

"[A]ny man’s finest hour—his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear—is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle–victorious.” - Vincent Lombardi

BREAKING GREENBEANS AND MAKING AN IMPACT

Sitting next to my grandma at the round, wooden table in her linoleum-floored kitchen, we talked and broke green beans. Methodically, we picked up a handful of beans from one bowl, popped off the ends, broke the beans in half, and then dropped them into another bowl where they soaked for dinner. It was these times that I loved the most. My grandmother and I had conversations about anything and everything that came to mind. Many times, we discussed my future.

Often, I tried to determine my passions through other people. So, that day at the kitchen table while I sat breaking green beans with my grandma, I said, “Grandma, what is it that you love doing most?” Without a moment of thought, she looked up at me with a smile and answered, “I like to make pies.” I knew her answer meant much more than making pies. When my grandmother was not mowing the lawn or working in the garden, she was using her talent to create all sorts of dishes to take to individuals who were sick or lonely. She taught me to value the quality of other people’s lives. Through her actions, I learned empathy. I learned to see and feel how other individuals see and feel, and as a young child, I developed an itch to help people.

Now, a 3L at Michigan State University College of Law, I still feel a strong responsibility and desire to change lives. Similar to the way my grandmother's cherry pies could put a smile on a person's face even on his or her worst day, the knowledge and skills I have gained as a law student have enabled me to make challenges of life more bearable to others.