Student Spotlight: Annalee Janke '10
When I was 9 years old, my dad took my sister and I to our new governor’s inauguration, and that was the day that I became absolutely enamored with our government and the entire political process. Not long after, I decided what I wanted to be when I grew up: an attorney. I guess you could say that I’ve planned on going to law school for quite some time now.
In undergrad at Baylor University, I majored in political science, and my interest in law and politics grew. Everything from the history that forms our legal tradition to the practical way that law is applied to real people with real dilemmas fascinated me. Working full time in undergrad also opened my eyes to the way that law affects real people, from the students in the dorm where I worked to the people in my line while I cashiered at a local grocery store. Twelve years after our governor’s inauguration, I graduated from Baylor and decided to attend Notre Dame for law school.
My first year was absolutely wonderful. I enjoyed listening to the stories and perspectives my professors had to share and being able to actually study the law for the first time. The summer after my first year of law school, I had the privilege of working with Professor John Nagle on several projects involving various environmental issues. Learning about biodiversity issues in Southeast Asia and how the environmental laws in the U.S. compare with those in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos opened my eyes to how important a reliable legal system is to people’s quality of life. More than just having the right environmental laws in place, people need to be able to count on a reliable administrative regime and the proper enforcement of those laws. I also helped Professor Nagle with research on his forthcoming book LAW’S ENVIRONMENT: HOW THE LAW AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT, that involves issues in the U.S. from light pollution in Alamogordo, New Mexico, to maintaining a “pristine” environment in Adak, Alaska.
It’s been a long road since the governor’s inauguration that first sparked my interest in law and politics (in fact, that governor is currently finishing his last term as President). But along the way, I’ve truly found a passion for law and the people on whom the law has a very real effect.
For more information about Annalee, visit her Admissions student profile.
