Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Blog

Shanda Vander Ark grew up wanting to be an astronaut. In fact she thought she had made it into the Air Force Academy – until she didn't pass her physical exam. Who would have known that having a screw in a shoulder from an eighth grade injury would be a deal breaker?

Nathan Tamulonis hails from Indianapolis, but after college everything seemed to converge together in what he calls the "perfect storm." The warm breezes of the Tampa Bay area were calling him, and Tamulonis and his fiancé, Hanna, made the decision to make Tampa their home, and WMU-Cooley Law School Tamulonis's law school. 

Kishnee Theus figured out that she was going to go to law school during her sophomore year of undergraduate studies. It was at that time that there was a devastating earthquake in Haiti. As a Haitian-American, this affected her personally. She had two aunts who were in Haiti, one an American citizen and the other not.

It was a law book Alexis Morris picked up in grade school that started her interest in the law. After something occurred in the classroom, she remembers her teacher pulling out an education law book from her shelf and then starting to read from it to the students. She then went to look at the book closer after class. 

The first time Richard Perez thought about going to law school was in high school when he had the opportunity to participate in some mock trials. He loved everything about it. 

Mohamed Hammoud was always fascinated by the criminal justice system, and always wanted a legal career, but was afraid the demands and cost were too much for him. That was until his first son was born, Mohamed Ali, was born in 2015.

Josh Bemis grew up playing hockey. It was all he wanted to do. In fact, at 16 years old he was committed to playing hockey at Western Michigan University, but ultimately was drafted by the Plymouth Whalers in Plymouth, Michigan, and moved away from home. He played there for 3-4 years, and he loved getting paid for doing exactly what he loved to do.

WMU-Cooley student Shekinah Apedo's first name in Hebrew means "In the Glory of God." As a social worker, Apedo loved that she was able to live out her faith, and give glory to God, in her career. But it was in the courtroom when she knew she was best serving her clients.    

After graduating from WMU-Cooley Law School in January, Geofrey Bilabaye will work as a research attorney at the Michigan Court of Appeals. Read about Geofrey's journey from Tanzania to a legal career in the Legal News story by Sheila Pursglove below. 

Read about WMU-Cooley Law School's Grand Rapids BLSA student chapter and their community outreach and support for local Deborah House. Read the Dec. 12, 2018, Legal News story below.